


Deep Like The Sea

by BambiRex



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Apocalypse, F/F, Genderbending, Hospitals, I'm not sure where I'm going with this yet, Little Mermaid Elements, Magic, Maycury Week 2020 (Queen), Mentions of Blood, Mermaid!Freddie, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ship Crash, Soul Bond, Storms, Worldbuilding, actually dolphins are like cats in this, death mention, delilah is a dolphin in this one, fem!queen, human!Brianna, king!au, mentions of abuse, mermaid!au, sea creatures - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 58,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26319544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BambiRex/pseuds/BambiRex
Summary: Merfolk and humans aren't supposed to fall in love with each other- in fact, they should avoid each other at all costs. This rule doesn't seem to work out for Freddie, the curious mermaid, and Brianna, the open-minded marine biologist.
Relationships: Brian May/Freddie Mercury, background John Deacon/Roger Taylor
Comments: 154
Kudos: 60
Collections: Maycury_Week_2020





	1. Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Ayyyy, just in time before Maycury Week closes, I'm swooping in with a mermaid!AU Leave me comments if you enjoyed the first chapter, and would like to see more! :))

Her parents were going to kill her. They were going to scream at her until the water around them will boil from the sheer anger, and then, she will be dead- that was for sure.

Yet, when Freddie saw it happening, she didn’t hesitate for a single second. She knew she wasn’t just risking her parents’ wrath, but her own safety as well; but then again, she was labeled ‘’reckless”, and ‘’too stubborn for her own good” all too many times- and Freddie always made sure to live up to her name.

She could never just stay in one place; her heart was always calling out for her to move on, to seek out adventure. She wanted to see and know everything ever since she was just a small child, causing her parents a great amount of distress whenever she slipped out of the safety of her home to discover the open sea. Merfolk usually preferred to stay close to one another, traveling in small packs- after all, there were many a danger waiting for them, from stray hooks that caught into their skin instead of the fish they were aiming for, to litter spilled into the sea that made their sensitive organs sick. And the biggest danger of all, to be discovered by humans.

It wasn’t as if Freddie was completely fearless- she could be quite anxious, mind you. For instance, she was deadly scared of crabs, no matter how her friends insisted they were harmless creatures: too many legs, and horrifying claws, if you asked her. She used to be wary of sharks, too, but then she befriended most of them, realizing they were much nicer animals than they appeared to be. And, well, when her father started yelling at her after she strayed too far, again, she could feel her stomach drop very often. But she wasn’t as careful as the rest of the merfolk, that much was obvious. She didn’t see the point of living her life in constant fear, sharing horroristic stories about how all of the merfolk was vulnerable and greatly endangered. She didn’t want to hide all the time, be on lookout and tremble in fear whenever the shadow of a ship above them brushed the surface of the sea. She wanted to live her life to the fullest, and if that meant invoking her parents’ and the rest of the folk’s disdain and anger, then so be it.

She swam way too far from home again, slipping out of the cave before anyone could wake. Moving without the guards noticing her wasn’t easy; she had to squeeze herself through a narrow crack in the wall, resulting in a few grazes and a lot of discomfort, but swimming out into the open sea made up for it. Freddie could never get bored of the silky caress of the water, the constant, light salty taste inside her mouth; she always admired the way the Sun shot her rays into the deep, painting the water clear blue. She liked swimming along with all the different creatures, the small, colorful fish that danced around her in quick little circles, the curious, but careful sharks who followed her from a safe distance- and her absolute favorites, dolphins. They made the most amazing pets, smart and loyal and playful, and Freddie could never resist petting them when she encountered a flock on her way. In fact, she was so obsessed with dolphins, that she took in an abandoned baby when she was a child, and raised her as her own, to which her parents only responded with an exasperated sigh. Now, Delilah was a young adult like herself, always accompanying her owner on her journeys, bouncing after her excitedly.

Freddie loved the sea, her home, and she felt like it was a shame not to explore every single part of it- it was just plain silly not to be free, in her opinion.

Today, the sea has been witness to the biggest storm of the past twenty years; the sky rumbled and screamed angrily, painted near black with heavy rain clouds. Lightning struck across it over and over again, flickering dangerously and crackling so loudly, it felt like the entire world was about to snap in half. It crashed down fast and heavy, and turned everything upside down.

In the deep, it wasn’t all that dangerous. It was darker than usual, as the Sun couldn’t power her way out from behind the thunder, and the current was faster, the water swirling in a crazy dance. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the surface-level, where the waves rose high, attacking everything on their way and pulling them under.

Freddie, the curious, reckless mermaid, was out here in that dangerous phenomenon, witnessing as the storm defeated a small boat and crashed it against a reef full of sharp rocks.

It was horrifying to watch as the rocks ploughed through the side of the boat, peeling the metal back like a mere piece of paper. Those ships always seemed so scary, so powerful, large iron monsters created by humans- but even they couldn’t prevail when Mother Nature was angry.

This boat was a smaller one, and so the crash was even more intense than in the case of a larger ship- the reef practically cut the body in half, tearing it apart piece by piece.

There had to be humans on that ship, and every other sensible merperson would have turned their back on the crash, probably even thinking how it was only fair, that the humans, those dangerous monsters who hunted and murdered innocent sea creatures and spilled their toxins in the water, infecting their homes, suffered the consequences of their actions.

But Freddie couldn’t turn away; someone on that ship was in grave danger, and they will most certainly die a terrible death, if she didn’t help them.

The thought that humans were their mortal enemies, was ingrained into the merfolk’s brain from a very young age- all they did was kill, hurt and torture, or at least that was what the older folks always said. A hushed story was passed over from oldest to youngest with a shiver, about the terrible incident when humans discovered a young mermaid long decades ago, caught her and dissected her, and tried to hunt down the rest of them. Freddie had no idea if that was true- all she knew is that she didn’t quite believe that all humans were monsters. They just couldn’t be: no creatures were evil by default. She met evil merfolk too, even though they all claimed themselves to be the purest beings to ever exist. Freddie was most certain that just as there are dangerous humans who wanted to hurt them, there are nice ones, too.

And no one deserved to die at the open sea where no one could come to their aid, be it human or something else.

She pushed every single doubt and fear to the back of her head, and swam forward as quickly as she could, expertly avoiding pieces of debris that fell into the sea. Delilah followed her, making distressed little sounds whenever a piece of metal or wood nearly brushed Freddie.

‘’Careful, Dear!” Freddie called back over her shoulder, and Delilah chirped, as if promising she would be.

The water was troubled around the wreck, both from the storm and the remains of the ship floating around, and Freddie had to narrow her eyes to see through the chaos. Belonging from the ship swam around her, human objects that Freddie didn’t recognize; she ducked out of their way and made her way over to the biggest part of the ship that was still somewhat intact, half-submerged in water and stuck between the rocks.

The storm passed as quickly as it came: it seemed like the only purpose of it was to wreck and sink that ship, and after that happened, it moved along peacefully. At least the boat wasn’t rocking now, thrown around by the waves like a toy as it had been before. It stood still now, trapped between the rocks, a quiet coffin under the water.

Freddie had to push a few rods out of the way, carefully squeezing her way past them before she swam through the large hole where the ship basically broke in two. Inside, there was an even bigger chaos than outside: everything was upside down, collapsed in on itself, and Freddie wondered how she was going to find anyone under the remains.  
Her question was answered soon enough, but she wished it wasn’t. When she managed to shove some of the mess aside, she found three people in a heap, all of them dead. Freddie let out a shaky sigh, turning away from the lifeless eyes.

‘’They are all dead.” She whispered to Delilah, who let out a sad little huff, gently nudging her with her nose to comfort her. Freddie gently scratched her back, shaking her head.

‘’We weren’t fast enough.” She said, feeling tears burning her eyes. She wanted to save these people, wanted to make sure they can get home to their families- because humans had families too, didn’t they? They weren’t all heartless beasts. Freddie often fantasized about what it could be like to be a human- their world was fascinating to her, even if it was so foreign. They built things and were able to control them; they were smart and crafty, always discovering and exploring- just like Freddie herself. And they didn’t have tails! How strange, though Freddie felt a little sorry for them. Those limbs they had at the bottom of their bodies couldn’t work so well.

These unique creatures were dead, and Freddie felt awful. No matter what the general consensus was about them, Freddie didn’t wish this fate upon anyone.

‘’Let’s leave.” She said, patting Deilah on the back. Just when she turned to swim outside, a small movement caught her attention.

Her eyes widened, and her heart gave a jolt. Under the remains, there was someone, a human who was still kicking, albeit very, very weakly. Freddie could make out their hand scrambling, and half a torso trying to lift itself, trying to move out from under a table that was pressed into their back- but they were dying, the life seeping out of them second by second, just as the water started seeping back in. If their injuries won’t kill them, the increasing water pressure surely would.

Freddie shot out, grabbing the table and pulling it away and off the human- it seemed quite heavy, but in that second, the adrenaline coursing through her veins didn’t allow her to be weak. She grabbed the human under the armpits and hoisted them up, swimming as quickly as she could. They exited the wreck just in time before the water rushed inside, filling up the ship and sinking it fully, pulling the remnants down and under.

The human was spasming in her arms in the throes of panic, their life instincts kicking in as the water filled their nose and mouth, but Freddie had a strong grip on them, holding the cramping limbs down. The last thing they needed was for this human to kill themselves with their trashing around before they could make it to the surface.

‘’It’s gonna be okay.” Freddie whispered, although she wasn’t sure she was understood- she had no idea if humans could even decipher their language. All the same, the human stilled in her arms, and Freddie smiled- only to realize the human didn’t calm down, but passed out.

‘’Oh, God.” Freddie fretted, swimming even faster, towards the surface. She gathered all her strength and pushed the human upwards and out of the water so they could get oxygen as quickly as she could. Her arms were tired from holding the human, shaking with the effort of keeping her above the surface. The shore was still far away from here, and Freddie wasn’t sure how long she would be able to hold them.

Delilah swam under them and lifted them both out, making Freddie smile gratefully. She laid the human over Delilah’s back securely, then she sprawled out too, letting out a deep sigh.

‘’Thank you.” She whispered, snaking an arm around the human to keep her safe. The adrenaline finally wore off, and when she felt that the human was still weakly breathing in her arms, she sighed in relief and passed out herself.

\--

They made it to the shore rather quickly with Delilah’s help. Freddie was thrilled to realize upon waking up, that the human was still alive, if comatose, and that they finally reached safe ground. The air was calm and bright, no signs of the previous deadly storm, only a few dark clouds on the distant horizon.

‘’Attagirl!” Freddie cooed, patting Delilah’s neck who chirped happily.

She jumped off Delilah’s back and pulled the human into her arms with renewed strength, dragging her across the last few meters that separated them from the shore. She knew she had to be quick, as merfolk could only spend a limited amount of time out of the water.

She laid the human down on the sand, leaning over her. Now, she finally managed to take a good look at them.

It was a young woman, with long, unruly brown curls that stuck to her forehead with dampness. She had sharp features, with a prominent nose and a sharp jaw- Freddie remembered finding a human made out of stone in the sea once, and this woman reminded her of that one. She kept the stone hidden in the corner of the cave, and often stared at it, reveling in its beauty.

She was thin, with long limbs and pale skin, so fragile and yet so elegant and powerful, that it made the breath stuck in Freddie’s throat. The realization that she was cradling a human, a dangerous creature in her arms finally struck her- and yet, she didn’t feel scared. This woman was so vulnerable, entirely dependent on her, laying limp in her arms, her chest rising and falling weakly with labored breaths. She wasn’t scary, at all: she was vulnerable, and beautiful, and it made Freddie’s heart jump strangely.

The woman had a gash on her forehead, and Freddie’s stomach dropped when she noticed the cut across her abdomen, staining the torn remains of her light blue shirt with blood. She placed a hand over the wound, and closed her eyes without hesitation.

She very rarely used her magic, still a little uncertain at controlling it- she was considered an adult due to her age, but she still wasn’t mature enough to be able to live up to her full potential; older merfolk could handle their healing magic so easily, Freddie often felt jealous.

She had to try, if she wanted to save this human. They were losing time; each breath was more shallow than the one prior, the woman’s body slowly giving up the fight. It was a wonder she even survived this long.

Freddie focused hard, gritting her teeth and pressing her fingers over the wound harder, feeling the warm blood staining her hand. It had to work, it must, they made it this far, she couldn’t die…  
She gasped when she felt it- a warm, tingling sensation at the tips of her fingers, and then a faint, orange glow against the woman’s clothes. Freddie couldn’t help but grin when she saw the wound slowly closing, inch by inch, until it fully disappeared as if it has never been there in the first place. She couldn’t believe it finally worked, after so much trying and cursing!

The woman’s temperature immediately increased, and her breathing was a little easier, filling her lungs properly. Freddie sighed happily, her body growing limp from the exhaustion of using her magic properly for the first time, and of everything else she had to endure today.

Her eyes drifted back to the woman’s face, and she couldn’t help raising a tentative hand to touch her cheek. Yes, she definitely felt warmer, and some rosiness returned to her cheeks. Freddie’s own cheeks turned a little pink as well, as she raked her eyes over her form again.

She was truly beautiful- Freddie has never seen a human from up close, wasn’t sure what was considered pretty in their world, but she knew she found this one breath-taking. She was sure she would be able to stare at her forever, never taking her eyes off the slim body and the unique features.

She especially loved her hair- as it slowly dried in the sunshine, it reminded Freddie of corals. She wondered if it was soft to the touch…

She carefully trailed her fingers up the woman’s face, over her brow, her forehead, until she reached her destination- she raked her hand through the curls, enjoying the way they caressed her fingers.  
Her little daze was interrupted when her eyes lingered back to her face, and stared into a pair of mesmerizing, hazel eyes.

Her heart all but stopped; she was rooted on the spot, gaping back at the woman whose eyes grew large, her lips opening, but no sound came out. She seemed just as taken aback as Freddie was, clearly not believing what she was seeing.

This was just plain stupid, staying this close to a human who saw her, but Freddie simply couldn’t move away. She was transfixed, staring back into those eyes, and her heart beat faster- not from fear, it was something else, a feeling she couldn’t yet place…

She heard sounds coming from the distance and finally snapped out of her haze. She looked up, fear finally spiking her blood when she realized there were people coming. Maybe this one seemed nice, but what about the rest…?

The woman’s eyes fell to her chest and grew even wider- before they closed, and she fainted again.

This seemed like the perfect time to get away from there before she would be discovered by more humans, and so Freddie jumped back into the waves, swimming away with Delilah quickly.

God, her parents were really going to kill her.

But, she couldn’t quite care about that, not when the image of a pair of warm hazel eyes, and adorable messy curls danced in her mind all the way home.


	2. Science And Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brianna only believes in what she sees: but what she saw this time, is beyond comprehension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's take a look at our little survivor, and her POV of the fateful meeting!

The sunlight filtering in through the cracks of the curtains caressed her cheeks, and Brianna slowly cracked an eye open, uncertain and bleary. She wasn’t sure where she was; everything was a bit of a blur, as if she was still dreaming, lingering on the thin baulk between sleep and being awake. Her body felt strangely light, and her ears were ringing, but other than that, she wasn’t feeling too terrible.

Because she should be, she realized that as memories of yesterday started slowly seeping back in. They went out on a short research trip to catch sight of the supposed manatees that flocked together, now that the weather was warmer- it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. They didn’t even want to dive this time, just take a look, maybe a few pictures- and the world turned literally upside down.  
Brianna swallowed thickly; the memories were more vivid now, flashing before her eyes, and she wished she could stop them somehow. She wished she was still feeling dizzy enough not to think coherently, because relieving everything that happened, was pure torture.

Nothing could prepare them for a storm that huge: they watched the forecast, listened to the local news all the way, but everyone was talking about a little bit of rain and some wind- nothing they haven’t experienced before. The storm caught everyone by surprise, raging like a wild animal and destroying everything in its way.

Brianna never really considered herself a coward, but she had to admit, this time, she was scared shitless. They only took their smallest boat, affectionately named ‘’Happy Fish” by the members of their team, and the poor thing didn’t stand a chance against the horrors of nature.

She could still feel the ship rocking beneath them, her muscles tightening on instinct as she gripped onto the sheets, trying to steady herself. The wind pushed them side to side, dangerously tilting the ship until it felt like it was going to do a somersault, like those crazy boat-themed rides at the amusement park. They were falling over and knocking into each other, all their stuff and equipment landing on their heads or in the sea; her camera was one of the first things to go, all but torn off her neck by the brutal wind.

She could almost still taste the salt on her tongue- the water splashed onto the ship, licking angrily at the board. She was knocked over by a giant wave once, falling onto her knees and spluttering as she swallowed water.

The captain lost control of the ship- he only managed to send an S.O.S. signal over the radio before everything slipped out of his hands, and the storm completely took over.

Funnily enough, Brianna didn’t remember the crash as much as she did the happenings before that. It was too big of a shock to comprehend, when the floor beneath them opened, and the entire body broke in half. A somewhat coherent thought crossed her brain in that moment- the realization that they collided with a reef, a pretty big one at that, and the sharp rocks were slicing them up like a loaf of bread, before all that was left is sheer panic.

She fell down to one side of the ship, hitting her head on a rail and losing her consciousness for a few minutes. She tried to reach out for the others, but then the world turned dark.  
When she next came to, everything was in ruins.

She didn’t recognize the ‘’Happy Fish” anymore: all that was left was debris, broken glass and pieces of their equipment scattered around. There was a throbbing pain in her abdomen, and when she touched it, her hand came up soaked in blood. Something cut her, but she had no idea what it was- she must have fallen onto something sharp. Her head was pounding, she could barely breathe.  
Brianna didn’t even have enough strength left to scream when she noticed the corpses.

Jack, Mia and their captain, Scott, were all dead. This was another thing you weren’t able to comprehend: they weren’t particularly close, but Brianna has worked with them many times, and somewhat considered them her friends. Realizing that they were all gone, was something her panic and exhaustion-brain refused to understand.

She thanked the Heavens despite not being a religious person, that her closest friends weren’t on the ship. Fate was kind when it sent Regina into labor a few hours before they sailed out, and Joan followed went with her to the hospital; it was kind when Tamara fell ill and called it off the night before. It was kind, because at least they survived.

Brianna wasn’t all that sure about her own chances.

Something heavy was on her back- the table they played cards on, just an hour before everything went to shit-, pressing down on her and pinning her to the floor. Her wound was aching, and she was getting weaker and weaker by every second. The ship started sinking, there was water rushing in, and…

A knock on the door startled her out of the horrid daydream. She let out a shaky breath, rubbing at her cheeks. Of course. She was in a hospital, sharp white walls and green bedsheets and hideous flowers by her bedside table, an IV stand and a needle in her arm- she was found on the shore after she was washed out onto the sand.

But she didn’t get washed out, did she? Someone…someone pulled her out.

She shook her head, swearing when it started pounding again. The knocking was louder this time, and Brianna cursed herself for waking up.

‘’Come in.” She called out, voice a little croaky and thin. She laid back against the pillow with a heavy sigh.

As cranky as she felt, she couldn’t help but break out into a small smile when the door opened, and revealed Joan Deacon, her very best friend and colleague. Honestly, the only person she wanted to see right now, was her.

Joan- knowing her very well- only carried a small bouquet of flowers; nothing flashy, an overblown ‘’welcome back”. Just a little gift, simple and honest, just like Joan herself.

‘’Jesus Christ,” Joan said instead of a greeting, half-laughing and half-crying, dropping the flowers on the end of the bed unceremoniously. She all but scooped Brianna into her arms, burying her face in her neck. Brianna could feel wetness on her skin.

‘’Jesus fucking Christ.” Joan repeated, unable to form coherent sentences. Brianna’s eyes were burning with tears now, too, and she finally let them stream down her face, raising her arms weakly to wrap them around Joan.

‘’They all died.” She whispered, the weight of it all crashing down on her. She let out a choked sob, nails digging into Joan’s arms. ‘’Deaky, they are dead…”

‘’I know.” Joan replied quietly, arms tightening around her. ‘’But at least you’re here.”

Brianna nodded with a shaky breath.

At least she was.

\--  
It took them a few minutes to pull themselves together. Seeing Joan brought back the horrendous image of her being on the ship and dying, too, the knowledge that what happened out there, was truly a tragedy all throughout. Being this close to death, and seeing it happening to people so close to you, was like getting shocked with a taser, over and over again. Just when you thought you could move past the images in your head, they popped out of nowhere again to haunt you.

‘’When I heard what happened,” Joan started, holding Brianna’s hand tightly, ‘’I didn’t want to believe it. I…I thought it was some fucked up prank or something, but then your parents called me, and…”

‘’My parents were here?” Brianna asked, her heart clenching. She didn’t want to imagine their faces, standing above their daughter who just nearly survived a ship crash.

Joan nodded, biting her lip. ‘’You weren’t awake yet.”

Brianna hummed, looking down on her ugly hospital gown. She only thought these kinds of things only happened in movies: after all, she spent years traveling over the seas, diving with sharks and never retreating, no matter it was freezing cold or burning hot outside. She always felt like she belonged to the sea: it has fascinated her since she was a small child. She has decided that she was going to be a marine biologist early on, and nothing could deter her from her plan. She was one of the few lucky people who actually managed to work in their dream field, and enjoying every second of it. So far, aside from going against a few oil companies and fighting against animal cruelty, she only experienced the ups.

Now, she was the dropped into the middle of the biggest down that could be.

Joan broke the silence again, voice uncertain and eyes searching. Somehow, Brianna knew what she was going to ask, even before she opened her mouth:

‘’Don’t get me wrong, because I’m very happy you’re alive,” Joan said, ‘’but…how the fuck did you survive?”

The biggest question of it all, and Brianna didn’t know the answer, either.

Except…she did know. She knew exactly, how she managed to survive. She just refused to believe it.

She did like fairytales when she was a kid, as probably everyone, but she has grown out of them quickly. She was told to be ‘’wise for her age” all the time, someone who knew exactly what she wanted. She was determined and stubborn, working her ass off to get to where she was right now. She earned her doctorate with blood and sweat, clawing her way up to the top amidst misogynistic men who didn’t want to share the field with her; she was generally a soft-spoken, quiet person, but she refused to take punches sitting down. She was a realist, standing on the ground with both feet firmly: she had her own ideas, her own beliefs, and no one could make her change her mind if she insisted on something.

Brianna was the kind of person who only believed something when she saw it- hence her not being very religious. She believed in science, in actual, material proof: you didn’t just believe stingrays existed. You went out there, and sought them out for yourself, took pictures and studied them for long enough to draw a conclusion about their behavior. Brianna didn’t believe in fairytales anymore, only things that could be explained by science.

That was the big problem: she saw something, and there was no way the laws of science could offer any kind of explanation on what it was.

When she was grabbed from the wreck, she was certain it was just her dying brain hallucinating; she got tangled up in something, and the fever made her imagine a savior’s hand holding her up. She sort of remembered getting a glimpse of a dolphin, but she wasn’t sure- though, at least dolphins made sense.

Beautiful, naked women with fish tails didn’t make sense.

It couldn’t be. She must have imagined that. She hit her head pretty hard, didn’t she? Mermaids didn’t exist. They were only folklore creatures, urban legends, fantasy fuels for the imagination of little children. She has heard the story of a ‘’mermaid” getting caught in the ‘50s, but no one actually saw a picture. Brianna was certain it was just a hoax, like the ghost and UFO-sightings, to create news and drum up panic. And money, certainly- at the core of everything, there was always bloody money. Why on Earth would someone come up with a ridiculous story like that, if not for profiting off it?

It wasn’t a mermaid. She was probably one of the tourists who found her on the shore, and maybe she was just wearing a weird skirt or something. Rational explanation, that was what she needed, if she didn’t want to go insane.

But then, who pulled her out of the water…?

Brianna carded her fingers through her hair, trying to think. Something was very off here. Maybe she hit her head even harder than she thought, if she was even willing to give this ridiculous idea a chance.  
She saw her too vividly, though: the luscious, silky black curls falling past her shoulders, the beautiful, darker skin, the big brown eyes framed by unbelievably long lashes; the sharp cheekbones, the full lips, the slightly protruding teeth poking out from between them. And…god, of course her fantasy included a pair of very large, and very naked breasts. They were the last thing she saw before the world went dark again, and honestly, it was very fitting, if she was looking for something amusing in it all.

That tail with the shiny, yellow scales wasn’t real, though. It was just a girl sunbathing naked, and stumbling upon her body that was somehow washed up on the shore. How she managed to heal her scar, Brianna didn’t know, but there had to be some kind of explanation for that, too.

She was making excuses, Brianna knew that- but she didn’t want to accept what she saw. Mermaids weren’t fucking real. This wasn’t a Disney movie.

She looked up at Joan, who was watching her expectantly. There was no way she would believe it, either- and much like Brianna, she had no reason to.

‘’Honestly, I’m not sure.” Brianna lied, shrugging. ‘’I guess my adrenaline kicked in, and I somehow struggled up to the shore before I passed out.”

Just because she couldn’t let go of the topic, no matter how hard she tried, she added:

‘’My concussed brain hallucinated a mermaid.”

Joan’s eyes widened, then she burst out laughing, slapping her knee. Brianna forced herself to laugh along.

‘’Jesus, that’s wild.” Joan cackled, wiping at her eyes. ‘’How did she look like?”

‘’Beautiful.” Brianna breathed at once. When she noticed the strange look on Joan’s face, she blushed, and forced out a grin. ‘’Hey, don’t judge me, I haven’t gotten any action in months.”

Joan chuckled, laying back on the bed with her, arms under her head comfortably. ‘’Describe your concussed porn fantasy.”

Brianna rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched into a smile on their own accord. ‘’Black hair, brown eyes, red lips…uhm, curvy at the right places.”

She blushed again, and Joan snorted, patting her shoulder.

‘’Just say she had giant tits, neither of us are virgins.”

Brianna swatted at her with a laugh, shaking her head. Joking about it with Joan made it seem less real, somehow: maybe this was the real explanation, after all. She was just a figment of her imagination, a very pretty and sexy one, and nothing more. And considering Brianna’s love for all things sea, it made sense she saw a legendary sea creature, right?

‘’She sounds lovely, though I prefer blondes.” Joan said with a grin.

‘’Oh, right!” Brianna perked up, lifting her head to look at her friend with a smile. ‘’How’s Regina? How’s the baby?”

A wide smile spread on Joan’s face, her eyes lighting up. ‘’They are doing great.” She said, voice so warm that Brianna couldn’t stop grinning. ‘’Regina wanted to come too, but the doctors said she should rest for a few days. We have a healthy little boy- Roderick Taylor-Deacon.”

‘’I’m so happy for you.” Brianna said, pulling her friend into another hug. She let Joan gush about her little family, listening in with half an ear- her mind was whirring too loudly to pay her full attention, and she felt a little bad about it.

But she kept seeing those eyes, dark and endless like the bottom of the sea. There was a strange feeling inside her chest, a longing of some sorts- like someone was calling out to her, and she couldn’t answer, even though she desperately wanted to.

She fell asleep again after Joan left, and dreamt about the girl on the shore- she was smiling, pulling her lips over her overbite, her deep brown eyes sparkling as she blinked up at her. She was beautiful, adorable and playful, and Brianna felt herself drawn to her. It felt like she knew this girl forever, as if she was a missing piece of a frustratingly uncomplete puzzle- the other half of her soul.

She followed the girl, hoping she would get her name this time- but all she got was a glimpse at her yellow, scaled tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Bri...sometimes you just need to *believe* ;)


	3. Longing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie can't stop thinking about the mysterious human: she confides in her friends, and has a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help but throw in a few new characters! I guess the names are self-explanatory, but just in case, Etta is Elton John, Petra is Peter Straker and Phoebe is...you guessed it :D

Getting scolded by her parents was never fun; Freddie’s father, Bomi, could yell pretty loud, causing everyone to cover their ears around them and cower away from his wrath- because of course, a public humiliation was much more efficient than doing it somewhere more hidden. Her mother, Jer, had the tendency to burst into tears and guilt-trip Freddie, shrieking about her poor heart, and her reckless child who clearly didn’t care how much stress she was causing to her beloved parents. Whenever they went on another furious rant, lecturing Freddie about safety and modesty, she hung her head and nodded along, trying not to make matters even worse for herself. There was always a reply on the tip of her tongue, a sassy comeback that would definitely cause her parents to simply explode with rage, but she knew better than to piss them off even more. She had been listening to their constant grumbling for two days now, but she couldn’t bring herself to take it to heart.

There was something, or rather someone on her mind all the time, who pretty much occupied her every thought, and didn’t exactly allow her to focus on anything else.

Freddie has never felt anything like that before. Sure, she had found other mermaids quite lovely, and blushed deeply if one of them smiled at her, but this was different. Despite the human being just a stranger to her, Freddie somehow felt like she had known her forever. 

Her heart kept aching, for she couldn’t feel the warm skin beneath her fingertips anymore, couldn’t stare into those eyes. God, those eyes- it felt like a whole new world has opened wide when Freddie looked into them. She had seen beauty before, but what she experienced on the shore, went way beyond that. It touched her, inside her very core; it gripped her heart and filled up her every cell with such longing, that it nearly hurt. Freddie knew she wasn’t supposed to fall for someone she didn’t even know, let alone one from an entirely different species, and yet, here she was, unable to think of anything but the beautiful human she pulled to the shore.

Ever since she was little, Freddie was longing for something, albeit she never really knew what it was. She loved the sea, and she had amazing friends- not much to complain about. But something was always missing, as if there was a hole inside her chest that needed to be filled. An inaudible voice kept calling out to her, and so she swam out on her crazy adventures that distressed her parents to no end, searching for the purpose. Maybe it was just that, the need to experience as much of the world around her as she could, but Freddie wasn’t sure about that. No matter how far she swam, how many sea creatures she befriended, nothing could quite fulfill that need inside her.

For some strange, inexplicable reason, it almost felt like that woman from the ship could.

But it was such a silly idea, wasn’t it? They didn’t know each other, weren’t even supposed to. They came from very different worlds, separated from each other- and that was how it should be, after all. Merfolk and humans better not mix with one another. If the horror story about the captured mermaid was true, then they had all the proof why they shouldn’t. It was better if they all just stuck in their own environment, minding their own business and trying to forget that there were other creatures out there, so alien and yet so familiar.

That was what Bomi and Jer, and what most of the merfolk believed in. Freddie, on the other hand, still couldn’t decide whether this was really the ideal way of things.

After all, it was a human that she experienced these strange, but not entirely unpleasant emotions with. It was a human, who lay in her arms, and didn’t scream for help, didn’t try to hurt her even after she came to. Well, the reason behind that could have been the fact that she was entirely too weak and injured to do anything, but Freddie had the feeling that even if she were in a better physical state, she wouldn’t have caused her harm. She had no idea, where this feeling was coming from; she couldn’t have possibly known. She could have easily misjudged the woman: maybe she is actually a bloodthirsty whale-hunter, who is currently contemplating going back to the shore to capture Freddie and do all kinds of weird and horrible things that humans usually do with sea animals. Maybe those gentle hazel eyes could turn dark, and those elegant hands could suffocate. But Freddie couldn’t imagine that she was like that- she could imagine her as soft and caring, gentle and warm, but strong and steady. She could see her easily breaking everything that stood in her way in two, but wrap all those she loved in a protective embrace the next second. She seemed like such a mystery, and Freddie desperately wanted to figure her out.

Right now, she felt like she would die if she couldn’t.

‘’…you don’t seem to be listening, young lady.”

Freddie snapped out of her thoughts, shaking away the mental images of curly, coral-like hair. She blinked up at her parents, who floated before her, the disdain clear on both their faces.

‘’I’m listening.” Freddie lied, even though she had no idea, what they were actually talking about. Jer rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disappointment.

‘’I can’t believe you have the audacity to ignore us, after what you did yesterday!” She hissed, eyes narrow slits. ‘’This was the stupidest thing you’ve done!”

Well, Freddie couldn’t quite argue with that- and her parents didn’t even know about the human…

‘’I’m sorry.” Freddie replied, eyes cast downwards like an obedient child, even though she wasn’t anymore; she wished her parents actually started treating her like an adult, but then again, it was common with merfolk to separate from their parents pretty late. And, considering Freddie’s love for dipping her tail into dangerous things, it was no wonder her parents kept her so guarded.

‘’To swim so far away from the cave, in the middle of such a storm…” Bomi added, a deep frown plastered onto his face. His voice trailed off in the end, as if he was about to say something else, but stopped instead. The storm was quite a curious phenomenon: it truly struck from nowhere, and then retreated incredibly fast. Freddie had a feeling there was more to the story; she heard some whispering from the older merfolk, but other than that, no one seemed to be sure of what really happened the day before.

‘’I hope you understand, that you are not to leave the cave today.” Bomi continued, abruptly changing the subject. ‘’Your Mother and I both think you need some time to calm down, and think about what you did.”

‘’Father…!” Freddie started, but she was quickly cut off.

‘’No arguments.” Bomi grumbled, arms crossed over his chest. ‘’This is the least of punishments you deserve.”

Freddie fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Of course they had to come up with something like this. Sitting inside the cave the whole day, while everyone else was out!? That was the most boring thing in the entire world!

‘’No tricks.” Jer warned her. ‘’There are guards outside.”

Freddie huffed. It was just so ridiculous. What was she supposed to do all day? Swim around in the cave, over and over again? Play with rocks? Should she start counting the scales on her tail?

Even her little brother, Kareem, and her best friends were out. She was supposed to spend the entire day alone, with a few mermen on guard duty, and honestly, this was easily the worst type of punishment for such a curious mermaid like Freddie.

She watched with a bitter expression as her parents swam out, before she collapsed on a rock with a heavy sigh. A few bubbles floated around her, and Freddie swatted at them angrily, as if they had been the reason behind her imprisonment.

She felt a gentle nudge, and looked down at Delilah, who was watching her with a curious expression. She scratched the dolphin’s head, making her let out a soft squeak.

‘’This is going to be very boring, darling.” Freddie sighed. ‘’I’m afraid we won’t be going on a good swim today.”

Delilah made a sad little nose, laying her head on Freddie’s lap. Freddie caressed her back absentmindedly, her mind floating to a different land.

‘’Yesterday was intense, wasn’t it?” She chuckled softly. She couldn’t help the blush that spread on her cheeks. ‘’There’s just something about her, Delilah. I can’t stop thinking about her. I don’t even know why, because I don’t know her, it’s just… she is so beautiful, and special. I can’t really tell why, but I just know that she is.”

‘’Oh, someone’s in love.”

Freddie whipped around, a huge grin spreading on her face at the sight of her friends. It seemed like she didn’t have to spend the day without company, after all.

‘’I thought you were out for the day.” Freddie said, scooting over to make enough space for her friends on the rock. Merfolk tended to live in colonies; sometimes five or even more large families occupied a cave together. Freddie’s family lived with seven others, which made the cave a little crammed, but definitely very colorful: that was mostly due to the fact that Freddie lived together with her three best friends, Etta, Phoebe and Petra. And where these quartet went, there was always trouble.

‘’We figured that after yesterday, you would be sealed away for half an eternity.” Phoebe laughed softly, her eyes sparkling. ‘’And we figured we should keep you some company.”

Freddie’s heart swell with gratitude, and she flashed her friends a brilliant smile. The only people that could somewhat fill that inexplicable void inside her, were her three friends; they often strayed together, though Freddie had a tendency to go alone nowadays, trying to follow that inner voice that didn’t let her rest. Still, her friends didn’t even think about abandoning her, just accepted her with all her quirks.

‘’I’m so lucky.” Freddie cooed. She giggled when Petra plopped down next to her, giving her a crushing hug.

‘’We were worried about you, you fool.” She chuckled, ruffling Freddie’s hair in a friendly manner. ‘’What has gotten into you, straying so far away all alone?”

‘’I’m not sure.” Freddie replied honestly. If there was someone she could trust with her doubts, it was her loyal little group. ‘’I just feel like I have to be on the move, all the time. Like something’s calling out for me.”

‘’Is that feeling getting stronger lately?” Etta asked, mindlessly petting Delilah who has taken to rest on her lap instead. She looked up at Freddie, eyes searching. ‘’You do stray a lot.”

‘’I know.” Freddie sighed, staring at the opening of the cave longingly. It was calling her again, that voice she couldn’t hear but feel so deeply, pulling her forward. ‘’It’s like an invisible force.”

‘’Well, you have never been one to stay still.” Phoebe chuckled. ‘’You travel more than a school of herrings.”

Freddie shrugged playfully, though her heart was strangely heavy. That invisible pull has always been there, but just as Etta said, it was definitely getting stronger. And since yesterday, it was almost unbearable: it was almost as if finding that human meant getting a glimpse of what was missing, and now it was calling out to her even louder, screaming into her ears at full volume.

‘’Who were you gushing about to your dolphin?” Etta crooned, with a suggestive eyebrow-wriggle. Seeing Freddie’s blush, she grinned and reached out to pinch her cheek.

‘’Oh my Lord, she went and found herself a paramour!”

‘’Shut up!” Freddie squeaked, pushing her away. Etta snorted, and Petra giggled. Phoebe was looking at her dreamily, clearly expecting the details of a romantic tale.

Not like Freddie was going to share it with them- sure, they were her friends, but they would think she went mad, getting this close to a human, and very probably also falling in love with her. Out of all the reckless and stupid things Freddie had done, this one definitely took the shiniest shell out there.

But she couldn’t pretend that nothing happened, not when all her thoughts revolved around the human, not when her heart was pounding so hard just imagining her face, when that force was getting stronger and dragging her towards a destination Freddie didn’t yet know, triggered into full blow by the mysterious woman from the ship; not when she was so foolishly, desperately in love with someone she shouldn’t even spare a glance at.

‘’Come on, we need to know!” Petra chirped, her green tail wagging excitedly. ‘’Who is she? Do we know her? Is she pretty? Freddie!”

‘’I bet she’s gorgeous, if she has made her lose her mind so much.” Etta said with a wolfish grin. ‘’This little idiot swam out and got herself caught up in the middle of a storm, just so she could spend some time with her sweetheart.”

They all cooed, and Freddie blushed deeply, burying her face in her hands. She absolutely didn’t need this grilling, thank you very much: but it was simply impossible to keep a secret from her friends.

‘’I don’t have an affair.” Freddie scoffed, nervously fiddling with a lock of her hair. She bit her lip, turning an even deeper shade of red. ‘’I just met her.”

‘’Love at first sight!” Phoebe cooed delightedly, clapping her hands together. ‘’This is so romantic!”

‘’Yeah.” Freddie chuckled nervously. That much was true.

‘’So, who is she?” Etta pressed, leaning closer. They were all staring at her excitedly, and despite knowing she was, once again, being quite foolish, Freddie blurted out:

‘’I saved her from a ship crash.”

The grins immediately melted off her friends’ faces, to be replaced by utter confusion- and then the horror of recognition.

‘’Please, tell me you’re joking.” Petra said, clutching a hand over her heart dramatically. Freddie didn’t reply: she knew her silence was all the answer they needed.

‘’You’re an idiot.” Etta gasped, shaking her head so quickly, it was a wonder she didn’t get dizzy. ‘’Freddie, not even I am that big of an idiot! And I do a lot of stupid things, like when I seduced Henry’s sister, and we know that Henry is an aggressive idiot, but at least his sister isn’t a human!”

‘’Keep your voice down!” Freddie hissed, jerking her head towards the guards at the entrance. She sighed, rubbing at her temples.

‘’I know it’s bad, okay? But I couldn’t just leave her there. She was still alive, and…I just had to pull her to the surface.”

‘’Did she see you?” Phoebe asked, worriedly. When Freddie didn’t answer, she let out a resigned sigh. ‘’Freddie!”

‘’Only for a fleeting moment.” Freddie stammered, trying to save face. Hearing her own story did make it seem utterly stupid, after all. But even that couldn’t change the fact, that she was fairly certain she did the right thing.

‘’She woke up, and then passed out again. I don’t even know if she remembers me.” Freddie continued, feeling a stab of pain in her chest at the idea that her human might have forgotten about her. Somehow, she wasn’t worried if she was alive- she knew she was, and not just because she managed to close her wound. She just simply knew, could feel it. The idea that she didn’t even think about Freddie, was just horrid. That would be for the best, rationally speaking- if she forgot about seeing a mermaid, then Freddie and her family surely wasn’t in danger. Still, Freddie hated the thought that she wasn’t on her mind the way the human was on hers.

Etta sighed deeply, shaking her head. ‘’I don’t even know what to say. You managed to do something that almost no one can: you left me speechless.”

‘’And now you’re…in love with a human?” Petra checked with a frown. Freddie nodded timidly, unable to keep a smile off her face.

‘’You haven’t seen her, Petra.” She sighed, her chest blooming warm with the memories of her face. ‘’She is perfect. And I feel…connected to her, somehow. I can’t explain, I just…feel it.”

The other mermaids shared a look, clearly contemplating whether to slap sense into their reckless friend, or support her despite being foolish- eventually, they chose the latter.

‘’We just hope you won’t get hurt.” Phoebe said softly, reaching for her hand. ‘’You know how humans can be.”

‘’She’s different.” Freddie said, the words tumbling out on their own accord, as if she had no control over them anymore.

‘’How do you know that?” Etta asked. Freddie shook her head, her heart fluttering.

‘’I feel it.”

\--

Freddie has heard about soul-connections, but that only happened between merfolk, and was extremely rare: your soul didn’t get bonded to another on accident. It was only preserved for a very few chosen ones. It was a gift, a blessing. And there was no way this was going on here, because Freddie was a mermaid, and the woman she fell for was a human. This shouldn’t be happening.

But Freddie couldn’t come up with any other explanation, as she lay awoke that night in the cave. Her eyes drifted to the stone she had hidden in the corner, the statue of a human, and she let out a soft sigh. Could it be possible? That she was filled with such longing her whole life, because her soul was calling out for its other half? And could that be the woman from the ship?

Freddie wondered if the woman was thinking about her, if she felt the same. If she was as uncertain as she was, scrambling for an answer, trying to figure out what this all meant.

When she fell asleep, she dreamt about her, standing on the shore- her eyes were blown wide, scared but somehow thrilled at the same time, like she just had a big revelation. Freddie couldn’t help but smile, but she hid her overbite quickly- the woman shouldn’t see that, she needed to look perfect for their big reunion.

Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, as the woman took a few uncertain steps towards her, her curls fluttering in the wind. She opened her mouth to ask something, but Freddie turned around and threw herself into the water, looking over her shoulder to invite her in. 

‘’Come with me”, she said, not with her lips, but with her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To quote Etta: ''someone's in love".


	4. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brianna desperately wants to find answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @pumpkinlily for reminding me of a cool fact about mermaids, which I used in this chapter! 😊
> 
> Tamara is fem!Tim Staffell, by the way!

_‘’We all thought it wasn’t possible- says dr. Perkins, head of the Brighton Institute of Marine Biology. ‘’As scientists, we aren’t supposed to believe in fairytales. But this is real. The creature that we caught close to the shore, appears to have the physical aspects of a young female on its upper body, but the lower parts resemble the tail of a fish. I’m proud to announce that my team has encountered a mythical creature, a mermaid.”_

Brianna rubbed at her face tiredly. The skin was dry and itchy from dehydration, and her head was pounding. Hours have passed since she sat down before her computer, and she hasn’t taken a break to get food or water. Her mind was way too occupied, so deeply engrossed in the article she was currently reading, that time has ceased to exist around her.

_‘’We have done meticulous research on the animal…I’m not sure we can call it a human- dr. Perkins continues with a little laugh.”_

Brianna couldn’t help the little growl that escaped her lips, suddenly envisioning going back in time and punching the arrogant professor square in the face.

_‘’From what we have gathered, their organs are very similar to our own, and they are functioning just the same. We were surprised to find that instead of gills like a fish, the animal had lungs, albeit much, much stronger than a human’s. They can handle the pressure of the ocean without collapsing- a mesmerizing thing, if you ask me! They appear to have a higher percentage of body fat, especially around the chest and hips area, probably to keep them warm at cooler temperatures.”_

Brianna cleared her throat a little awkwardly, focusing very hard on the next paragraph to be able to wave away the mental image of the mermaid’s breasts.

_‘’We haven’t been able to figure out how they communicate, sadly. The mermaid was entirely silent and frightened, refusing to interact.”_

Of course she was fucking frightened, Brianna thought bitterly. Getting dragged away from her familiar surroundings by a bunch of crazy scientists gave the poor thing all the reason to be scared.

The next paragraph detailed how the mermaid died after spending too much time out of water, describing it as an accident- as if the research team didn’t let her die on purpose, cruelly testing just how long she was able to breathe on dry land, and to be able to dissect her like a piece of meat as quickly as possible. Brianna shook her head in disgust.

In the past few days, she couldn’t stop thinking- about the beautiful girl on the shore, the big brown eyes and the luscious hair, the adorable teeth and the red lips. The yellow tail, a cheeky flash of color as she disappeared in the sea, taking a piece of Brianna’s heart with her.

She tried so hard, to come up with a rational explanation, the grounded scientist refusing to believe. But it proved to be impossible, especially because she kept seeing her in her dreams. Sure, it could have been because she was so torn up over it, and her fired up brain couldn’t let go of the images- but Brianna couldn’t deny that there was something else. It almost felt like the girl was calling out to her, trying to communicate with her through her mind. As delusional as it sounded, Brianna was slowly starting to believe that what she encountered about a week ago, was indeed real.

She knew she wanted to be a marine biologist her whole life; that was her purpose, the main goal she had been always working towards to. Ever since she was a kid, there was a strange nagging inside her chest, pushing her forward. A voice constantly telling her to go and find something, but never actually explaining what it was. Brianna thought that fulfilling her biggest dream and becoming a scientist will silence that voice- but if anything, it only made it louder. Something was pulling her forward, and Brianna didn’t know how she was supposed to resist something that she knew nothing about.

Something changed when she was pulled out of the water by the mermaid. It almost felt like that strange ache had been soothed somewhat- as if she had found what she was looking for. She tried to push it aside, calling the incident a figment of her imagination- but then she dreamt about her for the first time in the hospital, and something finally snapped into place.

The mermaid was real. She was real, and she was calling out to Brianna, desperately trying to talk to her through her dreams, a magnetic force that had Brianna in an iron grip, clutching on for dear life and not wanting to let go.

And Brianna, letting the walls of her disbelief crumble, decided to let herself be pulled along.

The moment the doctors gave her the all clear and she could check out of the hospital, she all but ran to find as many information about the fascinating creature as she could, which, admittedly, wasn’t a lot. Besides the urban legend she was currently reading, there wasn’t all that much else, a few dubious websites quoting even more dubious sources, who apparently saw merpeople on the beach. It was a mystery, but damn it all if Brianna wouldn’t get to the bottom of it.

The excerpt of the case, happened in 1957, had no pictures of the captured mermaid, just a gloating by dr. Perkins, very proud of the fact that they kidnapped an innocent creature and cut it up like a piece of meat. The case managed to set off quite a huge storm back then- people either believed the professor and his team was a bunch of delusional idiots, or went into full-blown hysteria over the possibilities of mermaids. Many people had tried to go hunting them down on their own, for whatever selfish purpose they had in mind- money, glory, a scientific break-through. Everyone wanted to bask in the find of a lifetime, a tale coming true.

There were people who hated the whole thing, calling dr. Perkins and his team evil, going into legal wars over the discovery- they believed it was true, and they believed the mermaid had just as much right to live as humans. Those voices were surprisingly strong, and it was probably the explanation behind the lack of pictures and actual, material proof. The research team wanted the glory, wanted to stir the water- but they were cowards, knowing right well that what they did, was unethical and cruel, and wanted to save face in case the public opinion fully turned against them. The chaos around the captured mermaid lasted for about ten years, before people’s interest died, and they moved on.

Nowadays, no one really cared-the general consensus was that it was just a hoax. No wonder Brianna could barely find anything, even with her access to hidden databases.

She leaned back in her chair, raising her arms above her head and stretching out with a yawn. Her joints and popped and creaked, punishing her for spending hours hunched over the keyboard. Her eyes were throbbing from the over-exertion, dry and reddened. God, just a few days ago she thought the mermaid was a result of her concussion, and now she was making herself sick over trying to figure her out. It wasn’t just the need to hunt down that last piece of solid proof that she needed to fully let go of her doubts, but the need to get to know her, to know what her species was like. She wanted to be a part of her world somewhat, wanted to get closer to her.

‘’There you are!”

Brianna quickly exited the sites on her computer, whipping around in her chair. She cursed internally when pain shot through her spine. Damn, but she really needed to remind herself to straighten her back sometimes.

Her face immediately lit up when she saw Regina, cradling a little bundle against her chest. She didn’t get to see her friend while she was in the hospital, and now she was thrilled to see the familiar mane of blonde hair and wide grin.

‘’Aw, come here!” Brianna grinned, heaving herself off her chair and marching over to wrap Regina in a hug, careful of the baby in her arms. Regina patted her back, letting out a chuckle.

‘’Just a week after your nearly died, and you’re already working. You’re a freak, Brianna May.”

‘’Just a week after you gave birth, and you’re already a little shit.” Brianna laughed. Her eyes drifted to little Roderick, and her smile widened. ‘’Speaking of which, can I see the little gentleman?”

‘’The little gentleman vomited on my favorite shirt today.” Joan huffed, appearing just behind Regina. Brianna laughed, which turned into a coo when the baby stared up at her with his huge, blue eyes.

‘’He’s beautiful!”

Regina grinned proudly, pressing a kiss to the baby’s forehead. Joan propped her chin up on her shoulder, looking down on her son affectionately. She clearly wasn’t holding a grudge against her baby for throwing up on her anymore.

‘’Didn’t know it was bring your kids to work day today.” Brianna looked up at the familiar voice, grinning when she spotted Tamara. She finally recovered from her sickness, healthy and cheeky as ever.

She pulled Brianna into a hug, letting out a deep sigh. ‘’Fuck, I’m glad you’re alive.”

‘’Me too.” Brianna laughed, though there was no humor in it. She was sort of getting better, sort of accepting what happened, but that didn’t mean nightmares still didn’t plague her about the murderous storm, and her colleagues dying- when she wasn’t dreaming about a certain mermaid, of course.

‘’I still cannot believe what happened. Haven’t seen a storm like that in ages.” Tamara said, shaking her head with a frown. No one knew how it was possible that something that was supposed to be some rain and wind, turned into such a terrifying nightmare. But then again, so many inexplicable things happened in the past week, that Brianna was too exhausted to look for an answer.

‘’I was scared shitless.” Brianna admitted, shifting on her feet. ‘’It was pretty awful.”

Joan moved from her wife to gently lay a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Her eyes were kind and understanding. ‘’Don’t you need to rest?” She asked softly. ‘’I’m pretty sure Charlie wouldn’t mind.”

Charles Perkins was the head of the research center, a distant relative of one dr. Albert Perkins, the infamous professor whose interview Brianna had to dig through. Despite the old dr. Perkins, Charles- affectionately called ‘’Charlie” by his employees- dedicated his work to ethical research, a goal Brianna completely agreed with. He was incredibly nice after the accident, even offering compensations for Brianna for her injuries and her lost belongings (and a big pile of trauma, Brianna thought), as well as assuring her that she could take as many days off as she wanted.

But Brianna didn’t want to waste any day sitting on her ass and doing nothing, when she could look for information on the mysterious girl instead.

‘’I’m just skimming through some old documents, nothing too exhausting.” Brianna lied with an easy smile. ‘’Don’t worry about me.”

‘’Need some help?” Tamara offered, plopping down on Brianna’s abandoned chair. She put her hair up in a ponytail, rolling her shoulders. ‘’I need to get into the working-spirits again.”

‘’You have those?” Regina teased, making Tamara stick her tongue out at her.

‘’If you weren’t holding an adorable baby right now, I would smack you.”

‘’Careful.” Joan wagged her finger at her playfully. ‘’Reg knows that I can go into full mama-bear mode.”

Regina rolled her eyes, though there was a smile tugging on her lips. ‘’Don’t even get me started. She hovers so much. She barely wanted to bring me in!”

‘’I was worried you would want to start working right away!” Joan countered, holding her hands up. Tamara laughed heartily, shaking her head at them.

‘’Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. She’s a lazy-ass.”

‘’Watch it!”

Brianna listened to her friends’ banter with a faint smile on her lips. It was almost like returning to life again; a reminder that there was a world over the trauma she was subjected to, the constant, seemingly unquenchable ache, and the mythical lady of her dreams.

Her eyes drifted back towards the computer, and she sighed. She couldn’t leave it be. She had to find that girl again- she knew she wouldn’t be able to move on, if she hadn’t seen her again. It was torture, not knowing who she really was. There was some sort of connection between them, Brianna could feel it in her very core, and somehow she knew that not seeking out said connection would be a huge mistake.

Brianna didn’t know what the hell was happening to her- was she falling in love with someone, whose existence she could only guess? A slight glimpse, a mystery, a beautiful dream manifested in something that was too unique, too perfect to comprehend? Was that voice that had been nagging her her entire life, was actually the voice of that mermaid, sweetly beckoning her, reaching out to her when she was dreaming, and floating on the back of her mind, even when she was awake? A shiny illusion, a temptation that made Brianna question the entire world around her, occupying her every braincell and not letting her rest?

‘’Earth to Brianna?”

She blinked rapidly, pulling back before Joan could poke her eyes out with how hard she was waving her hand in front of her face. She blushed when she realized she was caught deep in her thoughts again, daydreaming about her mermaid.

‘’Erm…what?”

Joan gave her a strange look, which made Brianna shrink several inches. Sometimes it felt like her friend was able to see into her mind- she hoped her weird behavior could be explained with what she went through. She felt awful for using that tragedy to mask what was really going on, but it was smarter than spilling the beans about her delusions.

‘’We were talking about that strange-looking crab that Eric brought in, the one you were so interested in about three weeks ago?” Regina reminded her softly, rocking Roderick who started whining quietly.

‘’Oh, yeah!” Brianna replied, trying to inject more enthusiasm into her voice than she was actually feeling. Sure, the crab was quite interesting with its unique patterns, but right now, this wasn’t exactly the first thing on her mind.

‘’I’m probably gonna head down and check on it.” Tamara said, giving Brianna a quizzical look. ‘’We probably discovered a new species…?”

Brianna nodded, forcing a smile onto her face. ‘’Sure, yeah, that’s awesome! Gotta check on the crab!”

She cringed internally. God, she was terrible at hiding her real emotions. Her friends shared a look, but decided not to comment on the way she was acting.

She followed them down to the aquariums, her mind swimming miles far away.

\--

She was there again, only her torso peeking out from the shallow water. Brianna was glad her long black hair was covering her chest now, otherwise she would definitely have a hard time keeping eye-contact.

Not like it mattered, because it was just a dream- though honestly, Brianna wasn’t sure what to call these weird mental encounters. They never spoke, just looked at each other for a long time; it always felt like they were both waiting for the other to start the conversation, someone to be brave enough.

Brianna- despite being scared out of her mind- decided to give it a try. She didn’t even know if she could speak in her mind, if she could control it in any way: but something told her that this was not a regular dream, that she had more power over what was going in on her head than she could imagine. And she held that power because of the beautiful mermaid in front of her.

‘’What’s your name?” Brianna asked, her voice distant but steady. The mermaid’s eyes widened, a little taken aback- then she blushed softly. Brianna desperately wanted to kiss the pink dusting her cheek.

‘’Freddie.” She said, her voice clear and soft like a crystal bell, caressing Brianna’s skin. She couldn’t help but smile.

‘’I’m Brianna.” She replied. In that moment, she decided to let the last remnants of the wall between them crumble down; she let go of every shadow of doubt, opening herself up. And in exchange, Freddie did the same.

‘’I miss you.” Freddie admitted, eyes so sad, that it nearly broke Brianna’s heart. The mermaid lifted her head, looking into her eyes- and it felt like she was staring straight into her soul.

‘’Do you miss me?”

‘’Every single second of every day.” Brianna sighed, the words bubbling out on their own accord. If this was real, she would have scolded herself for being so cheesy.

‘’I keep thinking about you.” She continued. The warm breeze over the sea ruffled her hair, bringing the slight smell of salt with it. ‘’I want to know everything.”

‘’Me too.” Freddie said, her lips curling into a smile. How something- no, someone- could be so beautiful, was simply incomprehensible to Brianna.

‘’How can I?” Brianna asked, taking an uncertain step forward. The sand tickled her feet. ‘’How can I get to know you? How can I fill that void?”

What the hell am I talking about, she thought, a little amused. She didn’t realize she could get so poetic, but it seemed like Freddie was bringing out a side of her that she hadn’t known.

Freddie seemed to be contemplating the answer, head tilted to the side, before an almost cheeky grin flashed across her gorgeous face.

‘’Come and find me.” She said, voice light and breezy, and Brianna’s heart gave a harsh thud.

She didn’t know what Freddie meant when she told her to come with her in her previous dreams, but now she understood.

She needed to stop researching, needed to stop being a scientist for a second.

She needed to go down to the Brighton Beach, and meet her mermaid face to face again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? 😁


	5. Love Is Breathing Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4k+ words of Frian fluff? Of course.

The air was slightly chilly, bringing a light breeze over the Brighton Beach. The surface of the sea ruffled gently, small waves perking up and licking at the rocks in the shallow water, breaking against them with a quiet splash. A few seagulls have landed on them, looking over the endless dark blanket of the water before them, before they took off to grace the sky with their fluttering white wings.  
It was a picture of quiet Sunday afternoon serenity on a lazy mid-August day, but Freddie couldn’t quite appreciate the peacefulness of it, as she was currently shivering from the sheer nerves.

Every time she thought back on her last interaction with the human- Brianna, her mind provided, making her let out a dreamy sigh-, she blushed heavily. They finally managed to speak to each other; Freddie could hear her voice, her soft, kind voice, and she nearly tore up at the memory. She couldn’t believe it really happened. She kept trying to reach out to her, a quiet, but desperate plea beckoning her human close- and it finally went through. It wasn’t even her, that started the conversation; she still remembered how her heart nearly burst through her chest when Brianna spoke to her. Her doubts about whether her human felt the same way, dissipated entirely when Brianna talked to her. She felt just as empty without her as Freddie did, so drawn to a curious stranger despite the dangers a situation like this may have held. Her heart had beat just as fast when she thought about the mermaid, as Freddie’s did when visions of messy curls and warm hazel eyes danced before her eyes.

Brianna loved her just as Freddie loved Brianna, even though they didn’t even know each other.

That is not entirely true, we have a bond, Freddie countered in her mind as she popped her head up again to check the shore. It was unnaturally cold for August- wasn’t all that terrible in general, but for a hot summer month, it felt out of place. Something was off with the weather nowadays. It didn’t phase Freddie all that much- the sea wasn’t exactly warm, so she was used to the cooler temperature. But humans didn’t tolerate it the way merfolk did, which explained why no one was lounging on the shore that day- luckily for Freddie. She didn’t particularly like the idea of getting discovered by other humans, while she awaiting her own.

‘’Because she is going to come, isn’t she?” Freddie asked out loud, nervously scratching Delilah’s neck. The dolphin nudged at her with her nose gently, as if trying to cheer her up. Freddie gave a weak smile, before her eyes drifted back towards the beach anxiously.

‘’She didn’t promise she would come after all, right?” Freddie continued, biting her lip. Once again, her insecurities raised their ugly little heads inside her mind. Because sure, it seemed like Brianna felt that connection too, but what if she got scared and decided not to come…?

She was a human, after all, and Freddie was a mermaid. They weren’t supposed to mingle with each other. Humans were dangerous to merfolk, and merfolk were a strange exoticism to humans. Two ends of a coin, that were never supposed to meet.

But still, Freddie refused to believe that was it. There was a reason her soul seemed to be connected to Brianna’s, someone from a completely different species- if it was true that humans were all monsters, how was it possible for her to fall for one so deeply, to experience the sacred gift of sharing her soul with her?

Brianna wasn’t like those cruel humans who captured that poor mermaid and killed her, wasn’t like the hunters who dived into the bottom of the sea, just to get their greedy hands on the mysterious species. Freddie barely knew anything about her, but she knew she was a kind soul, open-minded but a little doubtful, confident but insecure. A precious ambiguity, and Freddie couldn’t wait to find out more about her.

Her eyes skimmed the shore, waiting for a familiar mop of dark brown curls to appear. Like corals, Freddie remembered with a smile. So soft under her touch.

‘’Please, Brianna.” Freddie sighed softly. ‘’I’m waiting for you. Don’t quit on me.”

She must have understood that Freddie wanted her to come down to the beach again- now, she cursed herself for not asking her explicitly. She only said to find her, after all, not where and how. Maybe humans didn’t understand subtle hints as much as merfolk did? God, but she barely knew anything about how the human brain worked. She knew they must have been smart, or at least there were some of them who were, if they could build ships and could learn how to swim, even without a tail and gills or special lungs to breathe. But maybe telepathic communication wasn’t their forte?

‘’Oh, Delilah.” Freddie sighed, hugging her dolphin close for comfort. ‘’I’m such a lovesick fool, aren’t I?”

Delilah gave her a look that made it clear she agreed with Freddie, and the mermaid chuckled softly. She was being a total idiot, just like her friends said- Freddie didn’t tell them she was going to meet the human again. She guessed they figured it out on their own, anyway. They knew nothing could stop Freddie if she put her mind to something.

Her heart suddenly started pounding loudly, dulling out the rhythmic roaring of the ocean around her until it was the only sound she could hear. She was sure her heart had swelled up several sizes, fluttering in the confines of her ribcage, pushing against it, as if wanting to break free.

She couldn’t stop trembling in anticipation as the figure slowly got closer, curls fluttering and flapping about in the wind. She was a picture of incomprehensible beauty, tall and slim- she looked like a good gust of wind would have knocked her over, but she carried herself with grace and strength, a defiant set to her shoulders. She may have been kind and polite, but wasn’t the type to be messed with, Freddie could immediately tell. Her cheeks weren’t as pale as when she was pulled out from the water, slightly pink with life and health-and something else. Excitement, Freddie thought giddily. Brianna was excited to meet her.

Freddie raised herself up higher, pushing herself out of the water as much as possible, to make sure Brianna could see her. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw the flush deepening on Brianna’s face, and her beautiful eyes widening slightly.

It felt like time has stopped around them, trapping them in a moment that seemed to have last forever- Freddie wished it really did. She wanted this moment to never end, to be burned into her mind, unable to be banished ever again. Ages later, she would still feel the electricity that ran across her skin as Brianna slowly walked out onto the rock that reached into the sea, the end half-submerged in water. She knelt slowly, carefully, as if she was worried she might scare Freddie away.

Not a chance. Nothing she would do could tear Freddie away from her, ever again. She swam a little closer, until she could push her torso up on the end of the rock, leaving her tail in the water. Delilah stuck close to her side, suspiciously supervising the scene.

None of them talked for a long, long moment. They just stared at each other, taking the sight in: that impossible dream, that technicolor fantasy turned real. A hidden gemstone, unfairly pushed down, rose up like a Phoenix from its ashes. It felt like Freddie held all the secrets of the universe in the palms of her hands, possessing the key that could open the stubbornly shut gate that separated worlds. In that moment, as she looked into those eyes, everything made sense; every doubt, every insecurity she had ever felt, was washed away and sunk down to the deepest bottom of the sea, the endless dark where not even merfolk could live. She used to cradle half-made pieces of her heart her whole life, and now it felt complete- the missing pieces slid into place smoothly. That nagging voice died down, the pull eased up: she finally found what she was looking for, and as she watched Brianna’s thin lips curl into a smile, she knew the human found it, too.

‘’You came.” Freddie whispered, still unable to believe it. A tear trickled down her cheek, but she didn’t bother to wipe it off- they were the tears of happiness, and relief. Her entire life changed in these short seconds, and with the tears, she shed away the loneliness and the self-doubt.

‘’Of course I did.” Brianna replied, her voice warm, but trembling slightly. She appeared to be in quite the shock too, her smile unabashedly happy, but her eyes swimming in tears like Freddie’s. ‘’I…God.”

She raised a careful, tentative hand that shook with nerves and the sheer ecstasy of finding her soulmate. Her hand was so large, but so elegant, with long, slender fingers. Freddie desperately wanted the kiss the tip of each of those fingers, but she controlled herself, trying to appear more patient that she actually was.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as Brianna’s hand reached her face. The touch was so slight, so shy, that Freddie could barely feel it- just a light graze of fingers against her cheekbone. But all the same, it lit her skin on fire. She shivered slightly, leaning into the touch. Her heart gave a happy jolt when Brianna didn’t pull her hand back, letting Freddie rest her cheek against her warm palm.

‘’You’re real.” Brianna said in awe, eyes shining like a thousand stars. She traced Freddie’s face with her thumb, smiling when the mermaid all but purred.

‘’I can’t believe it.”

Freddie smiled softly, turning her head to breathe the slightest, shyest kiss against Brianna’s palm. The human blushed, but her smile widened.

‘’You thought I wasn’t?” Freddie asked, peeking up at the human from under her hair. ‘’What do humans know about us?”

Brianna bit her lip with a quiet hum. That was a loaded question. What do merfolk know about humans? Was she the first one Freddie had ever seen? She didn’t even know if merfolk spoke exactly the same tongue humans did- and now, this curious mermaid was asking her about humans’ perception of merfolk.

‘’That is complicated.” Brianna settled for the answer, tucking a piece of hair behind Freddie’s ear. It fascinated her to no end, that despite living underwater, Freddie’s hair wasn’t even remotely wet. Her hair either dried unnaturally quickly, or was completely immune to water. Another interesting thing about this unique creature- Brianna couldn’t wait to figure her out.

But despite dr. Perkins and his research team, she didn’t want to do that for her own personal gain- or maybe she did, if getting to know a beautiful girl counted as such. Obviously, merfolk seemed to be quite fascinating from a scientific approach as well, but that is not why Brianna came here. She came here, to follow that voice, to answer the constant pull- to meet the girl who rocked her world, again.

‘’Why?” Freddie asked, big brown eyes staring up at her intently. Brianna cleared her throat a little awkwardly. Freddie appeared to have quite the curious nature.

‘’Well, some people are weird about it.” Brianna explained softly. ‘’Some don’t believe you exist, and some do. It’s all different.”

Freddie smiled, a little cheekily. ‘’You didn’t believe it, and now you do.”

Brianna laughed, playfully bopping her on the nose and making her giggle.

‘’Yes, now, I definitely do.”

Freddie grinned, before remembering herself and pulling her lips over her teeth. Brianna frowned slightly at that, and for a second Freddie was worried she offended her with something- but then the human smiled again, warm and genuine, and the momentary seize around her heart eased up.

‘’You’re beautiful.” Brianna said, and Freddie blushed deeply. She liked the way Brianna looked at her, with so much sincerity and tenderness. Sure, there was a quietly rumbling fire of passion underneath that- Freddie felt a little smug about that-, but most of all, it was genuine awe, an almost sacred appreciation for her beauty.

‘’Thank you.” Freddie replied shyly. She blinked up at Brianna, feeling her chest fill with warmth. ‘’You’re beautiful, too.”

It was Brianna’s turn to blush again, and Freddie wagged her tail happily in the water. She liked seeing that soft pink blush on Brianna’s cheeks, the glint in her eyes, that happy little smile. She truly was so beautiful, even more so than in her dreams. She wrapped her own fingers around Brianna’s, holding her hand with her much smaller one.

‘’I wanted to thank you, for saving me.” Brianna said, lifting Freddie’s hand to her lips and pressing a small butterfly kiss against her knuckles. Freddie bit back a squeal. ‘’You’re the reason I’m still alive.”

‘’I couldn’t leave you there.” Freddie replied, resting her chin on their intertwined hands. ‘’I saw you were alive, and I didn’t even hesitate. I needed to get you to safety.”

‘’How did you heal my wound?” Brianna asked. Her voice wasn’t interrogatory, just curious. ‘’I had a nasty one on my stomach. Glass cut me, probably.”

‘’Magic.” Freddie replied simply. Apparently, it wasn’t obvious to Brianna, because her eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

‘’What?” She asked, eyes wide. Freddie gave a small shrug.

‘’I have healing magic, but I couldn’t use it before that. Not until I met you.” She added with a smile.  
Brianna hummed in disbelief. This was a lot to process- a mermaid, who also had magic, and could talk to her in her dreams. She really needed to get with the program.

‘’All merfolk have magic?” Brianna asked, looking down on the small hand in hers. It was surprisingly warm, even though Brianna expected it to be cooler, like a fish- it seemed like in some aspects, merfolk biology was very different from human.

‘’Yes.” Freddie answered. ‘’Most of us need a lot of time to learn how to control it. And it can only be used for good purpose.”

That sounded about right- Brianna couldn’t quite imagine Freddie harming someone. She was so gentle and kind, saving a stranger, a human one at that, from a ship crash- of course she would only use her powers for good.

‘’Were you scared?” Brianna asked softly. ‘’Of me.” She added, when she saw the confusion on Freddie’s face.

‘’A little bit.” Freddie admitted. ‘’You know, a lot of merfolk are scared of humans. My parents say you are all monsters.”

‘’Ouch.” Brianna chuckled good-naturedly. ‘’What do you think?”

‘’I don’t believe it.” Freddie said, chin raised up defiantly. ‘’I don’t believe you are all evil, it can’t be. You’re nice, too.”

‘’I’m glad you think so.”

Brianna’s gaze shifted, and then she let out a gasp when she spotted the dolphin hovering besides Freddie. She completely missed it, as Freddie- rightfully- consumed all her attention.

Freddie followed her eyes, and smiled when she realized what Brianna was looking at. She petted Delilah’s head gently.

‘’This is Delilah. She’s a good friend of mine. She’s looking out for me and making sure I’m safe.”

‘’So, she is your pet?” Brianna asked, watching in awe as Delilah rubbed her head against Freddie’s side, closing her eyes in bliss. ‘’She’s like a cat.”

‘’Cat?” Freddie asked, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Brianna laughed, realizing Freddie didn’t quite know what kind of animals lived on dry land.

‘’It’s an adorable animal, though they can be quite sassy. A lot of humans keep them as pets, like you keep your dolphin.”

“Sounds like Delilah.” Freddie smiled, playfully kissing Delilah’s nose. ‘’Dolphins are sassy. It’s an honor when they choose you as their friend.”

‘’I think you would really like cats.” Brianna smiled, her chest warm as she watched Freddie cuddle Delilah. With every second she spent with the mermaid, she proceeded to fall harder for her. It almost felt like she had known her her entire life, so comfortable and relaxed in her presence.

Which immediately reminded her of a question she was dying to ask.

‘’Freddie,” she spoke softly, regaining her attention, ‘’what is this pull between us? It’s like I’m being drawn to you. What does it mean?”

Freddie patted Delilah’s head one last time, before she gave Brianna a genuine smile. She was hoping Brianna would ask her- she was more than happy to reveal this beautiful secret to her.

‘’I think we are soul-bonded.” She said, the words sweet on her tongue. Brianna’s jaw dropped, and Freddie couldn’t help but giggle. The poor human’s mind just kept being blown, over and over again.

‘’What’s that?” Brianna asked, eyes boring deeply into Freddie’s-wanting to know everything.

‘’It doesn’t happen to everyone.” Freddie started. ‘’It’s rare. It means that there is only one other for you, someone you’re destined to meet- they are like the other half of your soul. They make you complete. Without them, your life can be very empty. Having your soul bonded to someone is a privilege only a few get to experience.”

‘’And you think this is what’s happening to us?” Brianna asked, playing with a lock of Freddie’s hair. God, it was so soft, and shiny. ‘’We are soulmates?”

‘’At first, I didn’t believe it either.” Freddie admitted. ‘’Because it only happens between merfolk. I’ve never heard it happening between a human and a merperson before.”

‘’But it explains that strange void.” Brianna said, finishing Freddie’s thoughts. ‘’Like there was some kind of higher calling, that I needed to follow. I never knew what it was. I was…a happy person, I guess. I achieved my dreams, I have great friends… I was never all that lucky in the romantic department, but it could have been worse.”

Freddie felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of other people having the chance to love Brianna, but she smiled when she realized, that nothing could possibly compare to being soul-bonded.

‘’Something was missing, though.” Brianna continued. She sat back on her haunches on the rock, looking over the sea and the sky that seemed to blend together on the horizon. ‘’And I never knew what it was.”

‘’I felt the same way.” Freddie said softly. ‘’I kept going on adventures, straying from my parents, desperately trying to find what I needed, but I didn’t even know, what it was!”

Their eyes met again, and they both smiled. Neither of them had to say it out loud, but they both thought the same thing: now, finally, they both found what they were looking for.

‘’I love you.” The words ripped out of Brianna, as if on instinct. She had never said that to someone whom she only met so shortly- but now, she meant it with every fiber of her being. She loved this mermaid, this young woman her whole life, she just didn’t know it. She loved her when she rescued her from the clutches of death, she loved her even when she was still stubbornly doubting her existence, she loved her when she saw glimpses of her in her dreams, when they finally spoke, when it all finally made sense. She loved Freddie now, more than anything, as she was peeking out from between the black curtains of her long hair, deep brown eyes full of warmth, and cheeks adorably pink.

‘’I love you too.” Freddie whispered, and her heart once again struggled to burst out of her chest. She had never felt this way before, and it wasn’t just because of the bond: Freddie had the feeling that even if they weren’t bonded, she would still love Brianna like no one else. Because the desperate pull was the effect of the soul-bond, but the kind smile with the slightly pointy teeth, and the pleasant little laugh that made Freddie’s stomach tingle comfortably, was all Brianna. She was just that perfect.

Brianna brushed Freddie’s hair out of her face slowly, lovingly. Freddie may have made her lose her mind- or maybe she was the reason she finally came to her senses. All she knew, is that now she desperately wanted to kiss her.

She shuffled closer to the edge of the rock, leaning closer. Freddie’s red lips fell open slightly, her lovely teeth poking out- and she leaned in too. Brianna’s heart swell as she cupped Freddie’s cheek, her top lip brushing Freddie’s.

The shrill sound of her ringtone cut through the air like a knife, making the pair rip apart, startled.

‘’Shit!” Brianna exclaimed, scrambling in her pockets to find her phone. Freddie’s eyes were wide and scared, and Brianna suddenly hated herself.

‘’It’s okay, you don’t have to be afraid.” Brianna promised, clutching Freddie’s hand to comfort her. She groaned when she saw the name of the contact- her mother. She completely forgot she was supposed to be having dinner with them today!

She accepted the call, muttered a quick apology for being late, all the while never letting go of Freddie’s hand. She could barely hold back a laugh at the hateful look Freddie gave her phone, when she finally hung up.

‘’What is that thing?” She asked, voice full of unmasked disgust. ‘’It’s loud.”

‘’It’s a phone.” Brianna explained, showing it to Freddie. The mermaid whipped her face away, wanting to get away from the horrid thing, and now Brianna couldn’t help but laugh.

‘’It’s okay, Freddie, it’s harmless. You use it to talk to people who are far away from you. They can hear your voice through it, and you can hear theirs. It helps you keep in touch.”

Freddie’s eyes widened in curiosity. She poked the phone with a careful finger, visibly relaxing when it didn’t attack her. ‘’Interesting.” She said with genuine awe, and Brianna suddenly got an idea.

‘’How about next time I come and visit you, I’ll bring some human things with me to show you? And you can teach me about merfolk.” Brianna suggested. Freddie’s eyes lit up like a million stars, and she nodded vigorously.

‘’Yes!” She cried happily. ‘’I want to know everything!”

Brianna laughed, gently patting her cheek. ‘’Me too.”

Suddenly, the realization hit Freddie, and her jaw hung open. ‘’You said…next time?” She asked, her heart fluttering hopefully. ‘’You will come back?”

Brianna cooed, gently kissing Freddie on the forehead. The moment for an actual kiss seemed to have passed away, sadly- Brianna wanted to give Freddie a kiss that would blow her mind, and it won’t do when she was in such a hurry-, but this was nice, too.

‘’Of course I will.” She said with a smile, which turned into a grin. ‘’What, you thought you can just get rid of your soulmate like that? Not a chance.”

Freddie laughed heartily, and Brianna’s heart did a back-flip when Freddie finally flashed all her teeth at her. She should do it more often, Brianna thought dreamily. It was super cute.

‘’I can’t wait.” Freddie said softly. Brianna nodded, eyelashes fluttering happily.

‘’Me neither.”

\--  
It did hurt to watch Brianna walk away, but the knowledge she would come back soon, definitely sweetened the blow. Freddie’s entire jaw ached with how wide she was grinning- Brianna really came to see her! And she would be coming back, and Freddie will have a chance to learn more about her world! God, her heart was bursting with happiness.

‘’Oh, Delilah.” Freddie sighed, lying across the dolphin’s back with a dreamy sigh. She was so numb with happiness, she didn’t know if she could have the strength to swim back.

‘’I’m so in love.”

Delilah let out a little grunt, probably meaning ‘’you don’t say?”, and Freddie laughed, wrapping her arms around her strong neck.

Well, she really was- and she didn’t care what anyone had to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided halfway-through that I wanted mixed POVs in this one, I hope it worked out! As always, please share your thoughts with me!


	6. Doors Wide Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie and Brianna learn about each other's worlds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a lot of days coming up with what kind of objects Brianna would show Freddie- I hope the results don't disappoint!

Slipping out of the cave proved to be more and more difficult- after her last fiasco during the storm, her parents kept a constant, watchful eye over Freddie. She had to be a little more sneaky, some sweet smiles cast at the guards, some white lies thrown to Bomi and Jer. She was certain her friends figured out where she dashed off the last time, she could see the uncertainty in their eyes, heard the resigned sighs that left their lips as she carefully brushed past the guards to meet her lover. They didn’t judge, but Freddie could sense their worry. Not like they had any reason to be concerned- Brianna was truly perfect, and now that Freddie actually interacted with her in the flesh, she was even more sure that Brianna would never hurt her. She was as kind as one could be- how could anyone doubt her intentions?

It’s because she’s a human, Freddie’s brain reminded her. Her friends didn’t have a problem with Brianna- how could they, when they didn’t even know her-, they had a problem with the fact that she wasn’t merfolk. That she had two legs instead of a shiny, scaled tail, that she could breathe on dry land, that she belonged to a species that had the power to destroy an entire planet. Her friends were simply worried that Freddie would be sucked into the world of humans, and wouldn’t be able to escape if things turned awry.

But Freddie wasn’t worried. She knew that whatever was going to happen, Brianna will take care of her. She won’t let Freddie get hurt- besides, what was the harm of a secret rendezvous at the beach, with Freddie popping just slightly out of the water to meet her human paramour?

No harm at all. If anything, Freddie wanted more. She wished she could somehow visit Brianna too, that the human wasn’t the only one who came to see her. She kept imagining what the human world must have looked like, and she was certain she got the picture wrong. They were so mysterious, so unique- her knowledge of their world went as far as she could see on the beach, and the ships that traveled across the sea. Even those were a mystery to her: how could one control that large iron monster? How did they build them? How was it possible to have so much power over things, that they could control the entire world?

It wasn’t that Freddie was jealous of all that: she was just curious, her brain burning with a million questions that she intended to ask Brianna as soon as she showed up. She wanted to be a part of Brianna’s world, and she wanted her to be a part of her own.

So, when Brianna appeared on the rock, the same spot they met last time, Freddie dumped her questions all over her instead of a greeting.

‘’How can humans be so smart?” Freddie asked, wagging her tail excitedly and splashing water everywhere. Brianna gasped when her shirt got wet, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it, because Freddie immediately continued.

‘’You can control ships. Build things with your own two hands- how does that feel like? All that power…” Freddie’s voice broke on an awed little sigh, her eyes sparkling. ‘’It’s so special. You are all special.”

Brianna laughed softly, shaking some water out of her hair. She reached out her hand, and Freddie immediately leaned into the touch, nuzzling her warm cheek against her palm.

‘’Hello to you too, beautiful.” Brianna teased, making Freddie blush. She was told to be beautiful quite often, but not a single compliment felt as rewarding as when Brianna started gushing about her beauty. She felt so loved and appreciated, that it nearly made her heart burst. It was insane how suddenly Brianna came into her life, and changed everything with a pair of soft eyes and a warm touch. Freddie knew her world will never be the same after she met Brianna, but she was more than happy to welcome the changes with open arms.

‘’It’s a very interesting question you have there.” Brianna mused, tracing Freddie’s cheekbone with her thumb. ‘’I’m not even sure if I could explain.” She admitted, blushing softly. She didn’t want to fail her mermaid by not being able to show her a glimpse of that world that Freddie seemed so fascinated with. The idea of disappointing Freddie was like a stab in the chest.

But Freddie didn’t look disappointed- if anything, she just seemed all the more excited.

‘’You have the world in the palms of your hands.” Freddie noted. ‘’You are so powerful.”

‘’Oh, not me.” Brianna laughed. ‘’I’m just a nameless nobody. Billionaires hold all the power.”

‘’Billionaires?” Freddie repeated, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. What a strange word!

‘’People who have a lot of money.” Brianna explained patiently. She felt like an idiot when she saw the blank expression on Freddie’s face- what made her think merfolk were familiar with the concept of currency?

‘’If we want to get something, we have to pay for it.” Brianna said. She sat cross-legged, making herself comfortable. A happy smile blossomed on her face when Freddie lay her head in her lap, gazing up at her adorably.

‘’There’s this thing called money. That’s what we give each other, in exchange for getting the thing we want. If you have a lot of it, then you’re really powerful, because you can get anything you need.”

‘’Love?” Freddie asked, voice a little wary. She didn’t like the idea of humans not sharing what they had- why couldn’t they just do that? What was the point of this strange exchange? Could they buy love, hugs and kisses, too? Did that mean that Brianna wanted her to pay for the love she was getting?

Brianna hummed, twisting a lock of Freddie’s hair around her finger, before letting it go and watching as it bounced back into a soft curl.

‘’Not exactly.” Brianna said softly. ‘’Not real love, at least.”

‘’So, I don’t have to pay for yours?” Freddie asked quietly. Brianna gasped, horrified.

‘’What? No, Freddie. Of course not. I’m giving it free, willingly and happily.”

Her lips curled into a genuine smile in the end, and Freddie let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t even know what money looked like, so this was lucky.

‘’So, if you have a lot of money, you can do anything?” Freddie questioned, playing with some lint on Brianna’s trousers. ‘’And if you don’t, you’re useless?”

‘’You captured the essence of capitalism.” Brianna chuckled, a little bitterly. Freddie made a face like she just bit into an extra sour lemon, and Brianna couldn’t help but laugh.

‘’Oh, that’s a nasty subject.” She said, gently flicking Freddie’s nose and making her giggle. ‘’What else would you like to know?”

Freddie looked up at the sky, thinking. She had so many questions, she wasn’t even sure Brianna could answer all of them in a day.

‘’Why were you on the boat?” Freddie asked finally. Brianna’s eyes darkened, and Freddie had the mental image of slapping herself. God, she shouldn’t bring that up. Brianna suffered enough nearly dying on that ship, Freddie really didn’t need to remind her of that awful event.

The flash of sadness was gone from Brianna’s eyes, and she gave Freddie a small smile.

‘’We got on the boat to see some sea creatures.” Brianna explained. She brushed Freddie’s hair back from her face, making her smile. ‘’That’s what I do for a living. I research sea animals. I make sure that they are all okay. If one of them gets into trouble, we save them with my team.”

Freddie’s entire being lit up. She wished her parents heard this- humans were helping animals! Her father always claimed that humans murdered the whales and terrorized the sea environment, but Brianna just proved him otherwise. There were humans out there, who were the exact opposites. They worked together to help the injured animals, and looked out for them. Freddie didn’t think it was possible to fall even deeper in love with Brianna, but now she just did. It made sense, of course. Brianna had such a warm, nurturing nature- of course she dedicated her life to help those in need.

‘’You have magic, too?” Freddie asked, excitedly. ‘’Is that how you save them?”

Brianna shook her head, grinning. ‘’No, we are not as special as you. We have different tools that can help, though. We patch them up, and then we release them back into the sea.”

‘’You don’t hold them captive?” Freddie asked, hopefully. Brianna shook her head.

‘’Just until they get better. And even then, they are not exactly captives. We try to recreate an environment that is very similar to the ocean, so they feel right at home.”

‘’You use such strange words.” Freddie smiled, kissing Brianna’s palm. ‘’I love it.”

Brianna pulled back slightly, slipping off her backpack and reaching into it. She was so excited to show Freddie all the things she brought with her- a little taste of the human world.

Freddie followed her movements with watchful eyes, frowning when Brianna pulled out the first object.

‘’What is that?” She asked suspiciously, as Brianna held up her camera. Luckily, she owned more than one, so losing one in the crash didn’t cause such a tragedy.

‘’This is a camera.” Brianna said, grinning at the weird expression Freddie made. ‘’We can make pictures and videos…you know what, let me show you.”

She held the thing to her face, and touched something before Freddie could protest. She wasn’t sure what to think of the strange object.

‘’Here.” Brianna said softly, showing Freddie a little square. The mermaid gasped when her own face stared back at her, confusion written on her features.

‘’That’s me!” She exclaimed, eyes wide. Brianna laughed good-naturedly.

‘’Yes, that’s you. I pressed this button, and the camera captured the moment of you staring up at me.”

‘’Incredible.” Freddie said, blinking rapidly. The phone from last time was quite the shock too, but the camera was really something else. ‘’Can I touch?” She asked, eyes big and pleading.

Brianna wasn’t sure handing an expensive object to someone who hasn’t seen anything like that before was a particularly good idea, but she simply couldn’t resist Freddie’s puppy eyes.

‘’Just be careful, okay?” Brianna warned her gently. ‘’It costs a lot of money.”

‘’And if you pay a lot of money, you will have less, and then you would be useless.” Freddie said sadly. Brianna could barely stop herself from laughing at the choice of words. Well, Freddie probably wasn’t familiar with words like ‘’poverty”, so Brianna let her explain in her own way.

Freddie cradled the camera so delicately, as if she was holding a little treasure. For something so small, it sure weighed a lot. Freddie was as careful as she could be, barely tilting it to look at the underside. She was buzzing with the urge to start pushing buttons, but she didn’t want to break it and making Brianna sad with it.

‘’I love it.” Freddie said, gingerly handing it back to Brianna. As Brianna took the camera, their fingers brushed, and Freddie smiled. It still felt as electric as the first time, but there was a layer of calm trust lingering in their touch: they knew they didn’t have to be afraid around each other. They were safe, as long as they were together.

Brianna fished out the next item, which happened to be a notebook. She was very traditional, and often preferred taking notes by hand. She opened it for Freddie to peek inside.

‘’This is called a notebook.” Brianna said, slowly turning the pages. Freddie’s eyes followed with awe. ‘’You can write in it. If I see something interesting, I take a picture with my camera- and then I write down whatever that comes to mind, like how or where exactly did I spot the animal.”

She scrambled around the bottom of the bag for her pen. Freddie’s jaw dropped when Brianna started writing with it into the notebook.

‘’This is how you do it.” Brianna said, forming the letters with precision, despite knowing Freddie most likely couldn’t read. ‘’You take the pen, and you put your thoughts into words.”

‘’Are you sure it’s not magic?” Freddie asked, eyes glued to the ink on the paper, the methodic way the letters curled before her eyes. ‘’Even merfolk can’t do that!”

‘’It’s not.” Brianna assured her with a smile. ‘’But it’s definitely lovely. Humans should write more, instead of typing.”

She showed what she meant by pulling out her phone, quickly typing some nonsense in the notes. ‘’You can write like this, too, but paper is more romantic.”

She turned the notebook towards Freddie, smiling proudly. ‘’Here. I’ve written your name.”

Freddie gasped, running her finger over the smudge on the paper tentatively. She was worried she would wipe it away somehow, but she was thrilled to see that it stayed right there. She couldn’t read her name, but just the knowledge that Brianna wrote it down made her chest fill with warmth.

‘’Will you teach me one day?” She asked, peering up at Brianna from under her lashes. Brianna nodded, her smile brighter than the Sun.

‘’If you’d like, sure. I wanted to show you one last thing.”

She thought a lot about what to bring Freddie- the mermaid had not seen so many things, after all. But she wanted to show her something romantic, not just things related to her job.

She held up the small golden ring, her heart fluttering at the way Freddie’s eyes widened once again, cheeks turning rosy in excitement.

‘’Oh, I’ve seen something like this before!” She stated, nearly vibrating from the sheer joy of discovering so many different things in one day. ‘’There was one at the bottom of the sea!”

‘’Someone must have lost it.” Brianna said, running her finger over the delicate jewelry. ‘’This is my late grandmother’s ring. She left it to me before she died. This was the ring her husband proposed to her with.”

‘’What does that mean?” Freddie asked, eyes never leaving the ring, not for a second.

‘’When you really love someone, and you want them to be with you for the rest of your life, you get them a ring. It’s a human tradition.” Brianna said, unable to stop smiling. Freddie seemed utterly fascinated. Choosing to show her the ring was clearly a great idea.

Freddie finally tore her eyes away from the ring, only to gaze up at Brianna instead. Her eyes were so warm, so full of love, and Brianna could feel her heart pounding faster. She knew what implication that gaze over the ring held, even before Freddie said it out loud, and she found herself really, really liking it.

‘’I love you.” Freddie said, long lashes fluttering. ‘’And I want you to be with me forever.”

‘’Me too.” Brianna breathed. The last rays of the setting Sun reflected off the ring, making it glimmer golden. Brianna took Freddie’s hand into hers, once again blown away by the fact how much smaller her hand was compared to her own. So slim and delicate, like her grandmother’s hand used to be…

‘’I want to give you this ring.” Brianna said, voice barely above a whisper. She felt like she might start sobbing if she spoke any louder. She was surely insane, proposing to someone she met three times- one of them, when she was unconscious most of the time-, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be bothered. And Freddie wasn’t just a random date- she was her soulmate. They were bound together by an invisible string; none of the usual rules applied to what she felt for the mermaid.

‘’I don’t have a ring for you.” Freddie fretted. She scolded herself for not collecting it when she came across it on the bottom of the sea once- she could give it to Brianna now! 

Brianna didn’t seem to mind. She shook her head with a gentle smile, kissing the back of Freddie’s hand.

‘’No worries.” She promised. ‘’It’s enough if I give you one. Will you accept it?”

She wasn’t sure she could have handled if Freddie said no- this strange girl turned her world upside down, and Brianna never wanted to lose sight of her, ever again.

‘’Yes.” Freddie replied, her heart swelling inside her chest. She didn’t need to think about it for too long: she wasn’t sure what this human tradition meant, but she could tell it was important to Brianna.   
And if that ring meant they could to be together forever, then she was more than happy to take it.

Brianna’s eyes lit up beautifully, and she breathed another kiss onto her skin before she pulled the ring onto Freddie’s finger carefully. It fit like a dream. She didn’t bring that ring to propose- but now that it happened, she didn’t regret it one bit.

‘’It’s perfect.” Freddie sighed dreamily, inspecting the ring on her finger. It was so shiny, Freddie could have stared at it forever. It was also the proof of their love, their connection.

‘’Will you tell me about your world now?” Brianna asked, watching as Freddie reveled in the ring with a smile. Freddie looked up and nodded, lips curling into a mellow smile.

‘’What would you like to know?”

‘’Everything.” Brianna grinned. ‘’I want to know what life’s like for a mermaid.”

‘’Certainly not as interesting as for a human.” Freddie replied shyly, fiddling with her ring. ‘’We don’t have cameras or phones, or money.”

‘’But you have dolphins as pets.” Brianna cut in gently. ‘’Speaking of which, where’s Delilah?”

‘’I left her at home, she was being fussy.” Freddie rolled her eyes, but her smile remained fond. ‘’Yes, dolphins are lovely. But not everyone likes them. It’s hard to fit into the cave as it is.”

‘’How come?”

‘’Merfolk live in packs. I live with my best friends, and my family, and their families, too. It’s a little crowded, but it’s fun.”

‘’Tell me about your friends.” Brianna offered, and she knew she made the right decision when Freddie’s face lit up.

‘’Oh, they are like my sisters!” Freddie said, smiling. ‘’Phoebe is so sweet and warm, it’s impossible not to love her. Her tail is so pretty, it’s pink! Etta can be so loud, but she’s sensitive and can be even broody sometimes. Petra is always smiling and laughing, she’s a lot of fun to be around!”

‘’And your family?”

‘’They are strict.” Freddie sighed. ‘’Mother and Father hate humans, and they say I’m reckless for always straying. They scold me a lot. I have a little brother, Kareem, he’s so sassy! But he’s very mature for his age.”

‘’What do you eat?” Brianna asked, the scientist inside her unable to shut up. Freddie’s world sounded so fascinating, she simply had to know more!

‘’Seaweed, mostly.” Freddie replied. ‘’Algaes, small fish…”

Brianna bit her lip, trying not to show her disgust. She didn’t particularly like the mental image of her beautiful Freddie tearing into a live fish, but well. It was still a lot better than what most humans did.

‘’And does it…ever get cold?” Brianna wondered. She felt herself flush as her traitorous eyes slipped to Freddie’s chest once again. She remembered the excerpt from dr. Perkins’ interview, about the ‘’higher percentage of fat around the chest area”, and she suppressed a little groan. It was hard not to stare.

‘’Not really.” Freddie said. To make matters worse, she casually flicked her hair over her shoulder, revealing her plump breasts in their full glory. Brianna murmured a silent prayer for her sanity.

Freddie noticed Brianna staring, of course- she saw the flush on her cheeks, could hear how her breath quickened, and she was worried she might be getting sick. But she had to find out there was a completely different reason behind her reactions, one that made Freddie feel quite flattered.

‘’Is it not natural for humans not to cover themselves?” Freddie asked, eyes lingering on Brianna’s clothes. She would have lied if she said she didn’t want to see Brianna without them.

‘’Uhm…we have different notions about modesty.” Brianna chuckled, forcing herself to look away from Freddie’s breasts. Her eyes halted on her beautiful face instead, and she smiled. ‘’But I don’t mind, at all.” She promised. ‘’It just takes some getting used to.”

‘’We are always bare.” Freddie said nonchalantly. ‘’What is the point of covering up? Bodies are not shameful.”

‘’Humans could learn a lot from you.” Brianna smiled. Freddie shrugged, but her smile told Brianna she liked the compliment.

‘’And we could learn a lot from you.” She added softly. ‘’Our worlds are so different, but not even that distant than I thought. I’m happy to learn.”

‘’So am I.” Brianna smiled, resting her hand on Freddie’s cheek. When their eyes met again, there was a slightly cheeky edge to Freddie’s smile.

‘’Now, I only want to know one thing.” She all but purred, and Brianna’s interest was immediately peaked.

‘’Yeah?”

‘’Do humans kiss the same way merfolk do?”

Brianna grinned. Oh, yeah. The kiss that was rudely interrupted by her phone the last time she was here. Now, nothing was going to come between them- a truck could run her over, and she wouldn’t pull back.

‘’Let’s find out, shall we?” Brianna teased, hooking a finger under Freddie’s chin and tilting her face upwards, as she leaned in.

There wasn’t a shrill sound like last time, and Freddie breathed a sigh of relief. Their lips met, uninterrupted- and it was the most glorious thing Freddie had ever experienced.

Brianna’s lips were soft, molding against hers so perfectly, it made Freddie’s heart flutter. For a while, they just stayed like that, lips pressed together, to finally feel, to finally get a taste of what they missed. Then, Brianna’s lips moved slightly, and Freddie eagerly followed.

The human technique wasn’t different, but the emotions swirling inside her heart sure were. She never felt anything like this before: that electricity racing up her spine, that soft shiver breezing against her skin. How loud her heart pounded, pressing against her chest, wanting to escape and jump straight into Brianna’s hands. She held Freddie’s heart, her everything- in fact, Brianna was her everything. Freddie didn’t realize she was barely breathing her whole life, and now she was getting high on the oxygen from Brianna’s lungs.

Her mouth opened, pliant and willing as Brianna slid her tongue inside, gently seeking entrance. It explored her mouth, curious and willing to learn, and Freddie followed suit, mapping out every nook and cranny, the slightly pointy canines and the flatness of her tongue. She found herself falling in love with each and every new part she discovered.

When they finally parted for air, Freddie felt like she was floating, not just her body in the water, but her heart- flying, soaring towards the skies with happiness.

And as she looked into Brianna’s eyes, she could tell her human felt the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you thought!


	7. Gathering Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brianna and Freddie both find out about something deeply unsettling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing a new character in this one- you just know there will be trouble.

The creature made an elegant twirl under the water, its tail swaying behind it. It looked so majestic, so magnificent for the human eye, every single movement of its slim, muscular body a swirl of the brush against the canvas of nature. One could sit there for hours, watching it move around: the smart look in its eyes, the smoothness of its skin, the elegant bow its back arched into when it made a move akin to a double flip under the surface. Such a beautiful piece of art; no matter so many people dreamt of coming across one.

Brianna smiled as the dolphin chirped, pushing its rounded nose against the glass.

‘’You’re such a pretty thing, aren’t you?” Brianna cooed, placing her palm against the glass. The dolphin chirped again, tilting its head to the side: it appeared as it if it understood what Brianna was saying, and was now feeling quite flattered.

‘’Yes, you are.” Brianna mused, caressing the glass. The dolphin followed the movement of her fingers with curious eyes. ‘’And smart, too. Did you know you make amazing pets?”

The grin on her face widened as she thought about Delilah- the sassy dolphin seemed to have warmed up to her lately, actually letting Brianna pet her. She was still stubbornly glued to Freddie’s side, guarding her from harm- but it seemed like she realized Brianna meant no threat to her precious owner.

Thinking of Delilah meant thinking of Freddie by association, and Brianna’s heart fluttered upon imagining a pair of deep brown eyes.

Had someone tell her just a few weeks ago, that she would be rescued from a deadly ship crash by a mysterious creature straight out of a fairytale, and then she would fall deeply in love with said creature, Brianna would have laughed in their faces. Yet, here she was, thinking about Freddie constantly.

The beautiful mermaid occupied her every thought, and honestly, Brianna was fine with it- although, it was a bit of a distraction sometimes. It would have been a little easier to concentrate on her job without images of a yellow, scaled tail constantly dancing across her brain, but hell. She was in love, who could blame her?

Her friends noticed something was up, of course. She wasn’t really the type to walk around with her head in the clouds- she could get lost deeply in her thoughts, but she never considered herself an outright dreamer. Nowadays, she was floating on cloud nine twenty four-seven, and it was getting more and more suspicious.

‘’Are you seeing someone?” Tamara had asked her during one of their lunch breaks a few days ago, peeking at her over her fries suspiciously. ‘’You walk around with that stupid smile on your face. Who is it?”

‘’Is it the receptionist?” Regina asked, cradling a half-feeding, half-asleep Roderick to her chest. ‘’I’m sure she has a crush on you.”  
Well, Brianna didn’t really notice anyone else besides Freddie- the redhead may have been cute, but Brianna was simply blinded to anyone else’s beauty. It was Freddie, and only Freddie, all the time.

‘’No.” She replied slyly, badly hiding her smirk. She wasn’t going to tell them the truth, obviously- they would think she went mad. She could envision their reactions, asking her if she suffered permanent brain damage since the accident. 

And there was a sense of worry lingering, that made it impossible for Brianna to confess. She wanted to protect Freddie, keep her sheltered from the rest of the human world: she was sure her friends would never hurt Freddie, but they couldn’t be careful enough. Their meetings on the beach were often interrupted by passer-bys- that was enough anxiety to handle. Maybe Joan, Tamara and Regina wouldn’t start dissecting Freddie or sell her down the fish market, but they could accidentally share the news with someone, who wasn’t supposed to know about her existence. Brianna wanted to wrap Freddie in a protective bubble, one that would shield her from the cruelty humans could inflict upon her kind.

She kept her little rendezvous quiet, receiving looks of disbelief from her friends, who either considered her crazy, or decided to wisely stay out of her further business. All the same, Brianna was grateful she could keep her clandestine meetings a secret.

She waved at her friends, who all approached her with matching grins.

‘’I think we found the girl who stole dr. May’s heart.” Joan teased, nodding at the dolphin inside the giant aquarium. Brianna snickered, playfully flipping her off.

‘’Can you blame me?” She asked with a grin. ‘’My girl is the most beautiful creature on this planet.” That wasn’t a lie, after all, but her friends didn’t need to know that.

‘’How is she doing?” Tamara asked, rapping her knuckles against the glass quietly. The dolphin perked up at the sound.

‘’She’s more alert.” Brianna said, watching with a smile as the dolphin gently nudged at the glass, trying to catch Tamara’s hand. ‘’I think the antibiotics worked.”

They had to bring in the poor thing two days prior. She was in a really bad state, caught in a metal rod and severely injured. The carelessness of some people always made Brianna’s blood boil in anger. All the litter they dumped into the sea was extremely dangerous to the animals that lived there, and their new rescue was the living proof. Luckily, they reacted in time and could patch her up, but Brianna had been witness to much, much more awful cases that didn’t end so well. She couldn’t even count how many tragedies she had to watch since she started working for the research center.

‘’Lucky lady.” Joan cooed softly. ‘’Just a few more days, and you will be good as new.”

‘’And you can return to the sea.” Brianna added, smiling at the idea. Discovering a new species, taking pictures of rare animals were all amazing experiences- but nothing was as rewarding as when they successfully rescued one, and then they could release them back to their natural habitat. That was the moment that made every single bump in the road worth it.

‘’Or, you could make good use of it.”

An uncomfortable shiver ran down Brianna’s spine at the voice. This was such a lovely day so far, but it seemed like it was going to turn awry very soon.

She turned slowly, arms crossed over her chest defiantly. She stuck her chin up, facing the cold, calculating eyes head-on.

‘’I’m afraid we don’t support animal cruelty here.” Brianna said coldly, eyes turning into narrow slits. ‘’It’s literally what we stand against, Mr. Sheffield.”

Norman Sheffield chuckled, holding his hands up. Even his laughter was forced, like he practiced it at home. Brianna wasn’t sure he could actually experience human emotions.

In her field of work, they were ought to come across a few individuals who vehemently denied climate change, hunted whales and other endangered species for sport, and got off on being incredibly cruel towards animals, and even people who dared defending them.

Norman Sheffield was all of those rolled into one, making him the number one enemy of their team.

He owned a huge sea theme park in Brighton, that attracted a lot of tourists every year. Innocent fun on the surface for curious children; the terrifying cruelty was hidden under the layers of smiling handlers and overpriced candy floss. The Brighton Institute of Marine Biology had been working hard to take the park down for ages, as they did a fair amount of activism work, but the government wouldn’t budge. Sheffield was disgustingly rich, therefore he held way too much power: Brianna was sure he sneaked his way into higher levels of politics. He definitely had an in with the mayor, for example- therefore, kicking him off his throne seemed practically impossible.

He looked down on the Institute’s work severely: he considered them ‘’eco-terrorists”. In Sheffield’s eyes, all the hard work Brianna and her colleagues did was just a waste of time. He didn’t consider saving animals a job that paid off, and for him, that made it worthless. People like Sheffield only cared about the profit: they were more than comfortable using inhumane methods to achieve it.

His theme park and the research team had been in legal wars for years now, metaphorical bullets flying back and forth, but so far, no real progress had happened.

‘’Neither do I.” He said smoothly, taking a few steps closer to the aquarium. Brianna instinctively moved to cover as much of the dolphin as possible, making Sheffield laugh.

‘’Easy, dr. May. I just want to take a peek at my newest investment.”

‘’The hell she is your investment.” Brianna snarled, eyes blazing. She was almost as tall as Sheffield, which usually made her feel awkward and lanky on other days, but could be used as a pawn right now. 

‘’We are not selling injured animals for you to abuse.”

‘’How did you even find out about her?” Regina questioned, hands on her hips. ‘’Don’t tell me you bugged the institute, dipshit.”

‘’Reg.” Joan warned her softly, before she glared up at Sheffield, silently demanding an answer.

The sly grin on Sheffield’s face widened, his eyes gleaming. Brianna didn’t like that look. At all.

‘’Oh, you would be surprised.” He said slowly, tasting every word on the tip of his tongue. ‘’Your boss called me, actually.”

Brianna felt like she had been stabbed in the chest. Charlie? The same guy who was always so adamant in fighting the good fight, constantly proving he wasn’t like his distant relative? The same guy who was so understanding after the accident? How could that happen?

‘’You’re joking.” Tamara said flatly. Sheffield shook his head, the artificial, cold smile still plastered to his face.

‘’I’m serious, dr. Staffell. How else would I get in? You didn’t exactly give me a free pass. No, dr. Perkins actually considered taking me up on my offer that you kept refusing. He wants to sell me that dolphin.”

That can’t be right, Brianna thought. Why would Charlie do that? Sheffield embodied every single thing they fought against. How could he turn his back on his own team like that? Was he really like the old Perkins, the cruel mermaid-murderer? Was Brianna working for someone who didn’t care about animals at all, all this time?

She glanced at her friends, and could see the utter confusion on their faces. They were none the wiser: none of this made any sense.

Sheffield just kept on grinning, a terrifying mask of a human being, and Brianna suddenly had the urge to punch him in the face.

\--

Charlie looked absolutely distraught when they burst into his office an hour later, head hanging low, lower lip caught between his teeth anxiously. He clearly awaited an outburst from his team, because he immediately had his explanation ready.

‘’Guys, I’m terribly sorry. The government has cut our funding. We barely have any money left.”

‘’What?!” Regina yelled. ‘’Why didn’t you tell us?”

‘’I wanted to.” Charlie sighed, fiddling with his hands nervously. ‘’But then there was that accident, and it was a whole mess, and I figured you didn’t need to deal with that yet. All the compensations and monetary loss took another toll on us. We needed money, quickly.”

‘’And you turned to Sheffield, of all people.” Brianna huffed. She felt hurt, disappointed, betrayed. She couldn’t believe her boss would roll over for their biggest enemy like that, throwing all the hard work into the bin.

‘’He had been nagging us for so long.” Charlie explained. He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up. ‘’All the legal tug of war wasn’t worth it, either. It drained us completely. I had to make some sort of amends, okay? He promised us a lot of money for that damn dolphin. It was either that, or we could have shut the whole operation down.”

‘’You say amends, while you really mean you just sold your soul to the Devil.” Brianna said, shaking her head in disbelief. This was exactly what they tried to avoid. To throw away their ethics, to lie down for people like Sheffield. And now they just did. Reaching a hand to someone like that only resulted with them wanting your entire arm. It was only a matter of time until they started demanding more. He basically had them in his pockets now.

‘’Believe me, I hate it too.” Charlie said, and at least he truly sounded guilty- not like there was much comfort right now. It wasn’t just about one dolphin: it was about an uncertain future, where they could be used as helpless pawns in a game of business sharks.

‘’I know what we stand for, guys.” Charlie continued. ‘’And that’s exactly why I had to take the offer. We want to keep going on, don’t we? And if we do, we have to accept that even though our morals might be different than his, and our work is definitely more ethical, this is still a business, in a way.”

They all opened their mouths at the same time to protest, but the sudden darkness made them close it immediately. They heard an electric sizzle, and then it was pitch black in the office.

‘’What the fuck?” Tamara huffed, blindly tapping around and poking Brianna in the eye in the process, making her swear. There was some shuffling, and then a suddenly too bright light from Charlie’s flashlight.

‘’The power went out.” He announced. A loud rumbling sound could be heard from outside, then lightning striked across the sky, illuminating it.

‘’A fucking storm, again.” Joan groaned, scrambling for Regina’s hand. ‘’We gotta head back home before it gets worse.”

‘’Yeah, I don’t want Roderick to be scared.” Regina added. ‘’His Grandma is not the same as his mothers.”

Another roar and lightning. Brianna shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. That storm came out of nowhere again, like on that day, when the water was seeping in, and the ship tore into pieces, and everyone died…

She didn’t realize she was hyperventilating until Tamara placed a hand on her back soothingly.

‘’It’s okay.” She murmured, rubbing her back. ‘’It’s gonna be okay.”

Brianna nodded, trying to catch her breath. Fuck, sometimes she could almost manage to forget, the deadly storm and the horrifying accident- but now, that was all she could think about, as the sudden storm raged outside. The entire world was pitch black: the Sun seemed to have died, succumbing to the endless darkness.

‘’What is up with the weather nowadays.” Joan murmured. Brianna shook her head, resting her head against the wall while Charlie tried to take care of the situation, checking if the generator was still working.

Something was off, clearly. Or maybe Sheffield brought the storm with him.

Brianna just hoped Freddie was alright…

\--  
They could hear the roar of the thunder even in the deep, and Freddie frowned, curling up smaller in her nest. Everyone was inside the cave, huddled together. Freddie’s parents immediately checked that their daughter didn’t stray again, keeping a watchful eye on her.

Freddie desperately wished she could see Brianna right now: she tried to reach her in her mind, but couldn’t talk to her. Brianna was in major distress, Freddie sensed it through their bond. She was feeling anxious, and scared, and it was killing Freddie inside, not knowing how to help her.

It was probably the storm, it had to be. Brianna nearly died during one, she was probably scared it would happen again, and Freddie wasn’t there to save her this time…

‘’I hate storms.” Phoebe declared, curling up against Freddie. In times like this, Freddie preferred cuddling with her friends, warming each other up. ‘’I don’t know what’s going on right now. It just…happened.”

‘’Like last time.” Etta frowned. ‘’That came out of nowhere, too. Someone is pissed up there.”

Freddie perked up, eyes widening curiously. ‘’Up there?” She questioned. Her friends shared a look.

‘’We aren’t supposed to talk about it.” Petra said, though the cheeky glint in her eyes told Freddie she was more than happy to babble. ‘’I overheard my parents. Something about the wrath…”

‘’…of the Sea Goddess.”

The girls shrieked, flailing about as Freddie’s little brother, Kareem poked his head inside the conversation. Freddie clutched a hand over her heart, scowling at him.

‘’Kareem, you scared me to death! Why are you eavesdropping?”

‘’It’s the Sea Goddess.” Kareem said, instead of explaining himself. He looked around quickly, his orange tail vibrating in excitement. ‘’I heard Mother and Father talk about it, too. They think the Sea Goddess had cursed the world.”

‘’Why?” Freddie asked, a chill running down her spine. She had heard the tales of the Sea Goddess, one of the daughters of Mother Nature herself: she was the guardian of the waters, keeping a watchful eye over her creatures. She blessed the merfolk with their magic and the ability to form a soul bond: many merfolk worshipped her, praying to her. When she was little, they made Freddie pray to her often, though she didn’t quite know why she was doing it in the first place. She thought the Sea Goddess was supposed to be kind, and caring: she didn’t realize she could be furious.

‘’It’s the humans’ fault.” Kareem explained, voice so low they had to lean closer to hear him. ‘’They robbed her seas and tortured her creatures constantly: she’s had enough.”

‘’She’s punishing the humans?” Freddie asked, heart pounding inside her chest. Her thoughts screamed ‘’Brianna”. She didn’t deserve the punishment. She was kind, and loving…

Freddie glanced down at the ring on her finger, before quickly hiding it from sight. No, Brianna couldn’t get hurt. She wasn’t like the rest!

‘’I think so.” Kareem said. ‘’That’s all I heard.”

‘’Damn.” Etta said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Petra’s eyes were wide, and Phoebe looked like she was on the verge of throwing up. They weren’t too fond of humans, but they knew Freddie’s heart belonged to one. And even if they didn’t agree with her choice, they didn’t want their friend to experience such a loss.

‘’What’s going to happen to them?” Freddie asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice. God, why wasn’t Brianna talking to her? She had to warn her!

‘’I don’t know.” Kareem replied. ‘’That’s all I heard.” He glanced at Phoebe, Etta and Petra, grinning. ‘’So, who’s going to kiss me in exchange for that precious information?”

Freddie could barely see her friends whooping Kareem and pushing him out of the nest, accompanied by horrified gasps. All her thoughts kept circling back to Brianna.

She just hoped she was alright- and that somehow, they could stop the inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, tell me what you thought of the chapter!


	8. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie and Brianna get interrupted on the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry you had to wait for this update a little longer than usual- I'm kind of hitting a block with this story. I know where I'm going with it, sort of, but I just need to figure out how to get there, chapter by chapter.

It was truly astounding, how easily and quickly Brianna accepted the facts Freddie presented her with. In the world of humans, there was always a sense of disbelief lingering toward the supernatural- Freddie was surprised by just how many humans didn’t believe in the forces of nature. For merfolk, it was absolutely obvious that those forces surrounded them, always in action; every drop of rain, every fallen leaf and ray of Sunshine was the gift- or, sometimes, curse- of Mother Nature, and her daughters, the Goddesses of the elements. No one questioned those facts: some of them may have needed some more education, considering older merfolk preferred to hide the darker details from the younglings, but everyone just accepted that as the facts of life. Humans were vastly different, refusing to believe until they could experience something with their own two eyes; for them, the existence of mythical creatures was nothing but a fairytale, an exciting bed-time story they used to lull their children to sleep with.

Brianna was like that, too, in the beginning: she told Freddie about how she kept telling herself, that Freddie was nothing but a vision at first, how she desperately tried to explain the strange encounter away with a head injury. She was a scientist for a reason- Freddie has found out that being a scientist meant that those people relentlessly looked for proof, dedicating their whole life to either confirm, or deny their own ideas in the end. Such strange creatures humans were, indeed.

Brianna’s mind was more open, readier to believe even things that sounded impossible. Everything changed when she met Freddie, and she adapted surprisingly smoothly- instead of despairing over the fact that the main paradigms of science couldn’t be explained by Physics and biology as everyone thought, but by much higher, much more mystical forces instead, she was awestruck by it. She drunk all of Freddie’s words in with silent wonder, cheeks flushed in excitement and eyes wide.

‘’Is there a physical manifestation of the Goddesses?” She asked, leaning so close to the edge of the rock that Freddie was fleetingly worried she might fall headfirst into the sea. Freddie could feel the spikes of excitement through their bond, making her own skin tingle. ‘’What about Mother Nature?”

‘’I’m not sure I understand the question.” Freddie admitted, blushing slightly. Brianna used such complicated, heavy phrases sometimes, and Freddie felt a little inadequate for not being familiar with them. They rarely used scientific phrases on the bottom of the sea, therefore Freddie’s mind was constantly blown away by Brianna’s words. Instead of laughing or lecturing her, Brianna was always patient, kindly explaining everything. Those words were so natural for her, so obvious: yet, she didn’t mind explaining them over and over again if needed.

‘’Can you see them?” Brianna clarified, eyes shining like a million stars. ‘’Do they have a body, like you and me?”

‘’I’m actually not sure.” Freddie replied, resting her cheek against Brianna’s jean-clad thighs. She purred softly when Brianna carded her fingers through her hair, gently wrapping the silky black locks around her hand before releasing them. ‘’Younger merfolk aren’t supposed to meet them. Not even all the older ones are.”

‘’How so?”

‘’Meeting them is a privilege.” Freddie explained, letting out a soft sigh. Funny enough, talking to Brianna made her realize, just how much she hasn’t seen of her own home, yet: the ocean was truly endless, and the world was large and full of secrets. Freddie had dreamt about if before, fantasized of earning that privilege and meeting the Goddesses: she already had the gift of having a soulmate, but that mysterious world stretched even beyond that. It never failed to amaze Freddie, even though she was supposed to be more used to it than a human.

‘’Do you know how you can earn it?” Brianna asked. Her fingers trailed down, over Freddie’s cheekbones, and she broke into a warm smile. ‘’Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

Freddie blushed, leaning her cheek into her palm. In fact, Brianna never missed a day without reminding her, just how gorgeous she was: if they couldn’t meet up, then Brianna sent her a mental message, just to make Freddie smile. Freddie hasn’t seen all that many humans from up close, besides Brianna: she didn’t know how an ideal female looked like in their world. For her, Brianna was the most beautiful, no argument.

‘’You’re more beautiful.” She cooed, kissing Brianna’s palm. Brianna laughed softly, cupping both of her warm cheeks in her hands and pressing a soft kiss to her lips that had Freddie wag her tail in the water happily, nearly slapping Delilah in the face. The dolphin let out a soft growl, but let the shenanigans of the lovebirds’ slide.

‘’No way.” Brianna whispered against her lips. Her eyes were sparkling, the beautiful hazel Freddie loved so much, could get lost in forever now more beautiful than ever. Freddie wanted to protest, tell her that she was, indeed, much prettier than herself, but Brianna silenced her with another kiss. Freddie melted against her mouth, sighing softly.

‘’So, how can you earn the privilege of seeing them?” Brianna picked up where they left off. Freddie needed several seconds to come back from her haze, blinking away the pink clouds that fogged her eyes.

‘’My parents rarely talk about it.” She replied eventually. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ‘’Sometimes they still treat me like a child, even though I am considered an adult amongst the merfolk. I think it’s because we all live together.”

‘’No separation.” Brianna hummed, taking another mental note of the fascinating word of merfolk. ‘’Does this mean your parents haven’t met them, either?”

‘’I don’t think so. If they had, I’m sure they would brag about it. At least, that is what I would do.”

Brianna laughed, playfully bopping Freddie on the nose. Then her expression turned more serious, lower lip caught between her pointy teeth.

‘’And what you said, about the wrath of the Sea Goddess…all those storms, the radical changes in temperature, global warming…that’s all her doing? It’s our punishment for polluting, and taking advantage of this planet?”

‘’That’s what they whisper about.” Freddie replied. The frown on Brianna’s face deepened, and it made Freddie’s heart clench. She hated seeing her lover sad. ‘’But I know you’re not like that.” She added quickly, with a smile. ‘’I know you take care of the animals, and you always try to make this world a better place with your friends.”

‘’That doesn’t mean we would be spared.” Brianna replied, eyes drifting away into the distance, watching the clouds float by on the endless sky. ‘’The storm, it…we weren’t the heads of oil companies on that boat, Freddie. What you’re talking about here, is basically the end of the world.”

‘’I won’t let that happen!” Freddie cut in, panic seizing her throat. No, that couldn’t happen: Brianna couldn’t be hurt, and all the other good humans couldn’t be hurt, either. Children who did nothing wrong, kind souls who just wanted to help…would they also be swept away by her wrath, would they be punished for someone else’s sins?

‘’Do you think we could stop it somehow?” Brianna asked. She laced her fingers together with Freddie’s, blowing a light kiss onto her knuckles.

Freddie bit her lip, lowering her gaze. Delilah sensed her distress, gently nudging her in the side. ‘’Maybe if we could convince the bad people to stop killing the world…”

Brianna let out a slightly bitter chuckle. Her eyes were dark. ‘’I wish it were that easy, but with people like Sheffield…”

She took a deep breath at Freddie’s questioning look, and explained everything to her. How they had been trying to take down Sheffield’s cruel operation for years, how he abused animals and mocked everything Brianna and her team stood for, how he bought their injured dolphin, and their boss, too. Freddie listened with a deep frown, eyes sad and aghast. 

‘’Poor thing.” She said, thinking about the dolphin that would be subjected to such abuse. If someone tried doing something like that to Delilah, she would suffocate them. ‘’How can someone be so cruel?”

‘’Some people are just like that.” Brianna said with a resignated sigh. She caressed Freddie’s cheek, giving her a small smile. ‘’But don’t worry, I will always keep you safe. I won’t let Sheffield or someone like that put their dirty hands over you, or your friends, ever.”

Freddie smiled, gently grabbing the back of her head and pulling her into a kiss. She could forget about the impending troubles, the threat of the Sea Goddess’ rage and what it would mean for the world; she could stop thinking about that Sheffield man, who had such a hateful heart. All she could focus on was Brianna, her soft lips against hers, their breaths mingling. She buried her hands in the frizzy curls, enjoying the familiar texture under her hands. As long as Brianna was with her, she just knew things were going to be alright. As long as her heart belonged to the precious human, no storm or abuse could stand in her way. Brianna would keep her safe, and Freddie would, too: she had magic, after all. Whatever might happen later, she would make sure her human won’t get hurt. Her tail stood tall out of the water, wagging with the sheer ecstasy of being in her lover’s embrace.

Something splashed in the water, but it wasn’t Delilah; something crunched on the ground, but the sound wasn’t caused by Brianna’s feet. They broke apart in panic, hearts hammering inside their chests as they both turned to see what happened.

The entire Brighton Beach echoed from the mingled screams.

Brianna scrambled back, landing on her bum and hissing when a sharp rock dug into her hip. Freddie instinctively hugged Delilah close, who was struggling against her hold, upset and scared by her owner’s screams.

Everyone was frozen on the spot for a while, just screaming from the sheer shock of what they just discovered. The three mermaids huddled close to each other, and so did the three humans, protecting themselves and each other from the threat.

‘’What in the…fucking Hell!” Regina screamed, her fingers digging into Joan’s arm painfully. Her wife’s face was pale as a sheet, eyes comically large as she stared at the creatures in front of her. Tamara’s knees buckled, holding onto her friends for dear life.

‘’Freddie, quick!” Petra screamed, grabbing her friend’s arm and trying to drag her away from the rock’s edge. ‘’Humans!”

But Freddie was so frozen in shock, she didn’t know what to do: she stared back at the three strangers standing behind Brianna, gawking at her. Her heart shook and fluttered inside her chest, nearly exploding with nerves. It was only a matter of time until they were discovered, and now it happened, their secret was out, she was going to get caught and dissected…

‘’Brianna, care to explain?” Tamara yelled, nearly hyperventilating. Brianna was also dumbstruck, staring at the three other mermaids behind Freddie, who were clearly losing their mind in fear.

‘’I…Freddie, they are my friends.” Brianna explained quickly, reaching a hand out for Freddie. The mermaid flinched, then the realization that it was just her soulmate, the person that would never hurt her, hit, and she blinked up at her with wide eyes.

‘’Freddie, don’t believe her!” Etta shrieked. Delilah let out an angry chirp and slapped at her with her tail, upset by the loud noises.

Joan was the first one to come back from the shock. She stepped forward slowly, lowering herself to her knees to be eye-level with Freddie. Everyone- humans and mermaids alike- stared at her, breaths held back.

‘’Brianna’s right, we won’t hurt you.” Joan said, voice calm and quiet. ‘’It’s okay.”

Freddie tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at her. This girl seemed nice enough: she didn’t have a net or a weapon, and Brianna claimed she was her friend- why would she lie? Carefully, she edged closer, eyes going from Brianna to Joan and back.

‘’They are part of my team.” Brianna explained, reaching out to gently caress Freddie’s hair, calming her. The mermaid leaned into the touch, some of the tension seeping out of her body. ‘’They work with me. Joan, Regina, and Tamara.”

‘’This is real, right?” Regina asked, blinking rapidly. ‘’Roderick was so fussy last night, and I was up all night, maybe my brain shut down from the exhaustion.”

‘’No, it’s real.” Brianna said, still gently petting Freddie’s hair. ‘’Trust me,” she pushed the thought through their bond, feeling as Freddie relaxed against her. She peeked behind her soulmate, giving the other three a small smile. ‘’Hello, there.”

The three mermaids flinched at her voice, ready to flee- but they stayed still, seeing that their friend also didn’t move.

‘’We, uhm…we wanted to see Freddie’s mysterious human.” Phoebe admitted quietly. Her eyes drifted to Joan, and her shoulders tensed. ‘’We didn’t expect so many other humans…”

‘’We didn’t expect any mermaids.” Joan chuckled, sending Phoebe a kind smile. The mermaid returned it, albeit awfully shyly. Joan glanced up at Brianna, her entire expression one big question mark.

Brianna scratched the back of her head awkwardly. Well, she had a lot to explain.

‘’I’m sorry, that I didn’t tell you guys.” She said. She gazed at Freddie dreamily, giving her a mellow smile. ‘’I just wanted to keep Freddie safe. And, well…surely if I told you I’m dating a mermaid, you would have thought I went mad.”

‘’Surely.” Regina chuckled. She knelt next to her wife, her curiosity prevailing over her fear. Petra inched closer to her, curiously sniffing her blonde hair. Regina let her with an awkward laugh, not sure what to make of that situation.

‘’Sorry.” Petra muttered, pulling back. ‘’This is…wild.”

‘’That’s one way to put it.” Tamara chuckled. She desperately tried looking the mermaids in the eyes, and not staring at their tails, or their naked breasts.

‘’Are you really not going to hurt us?” Etta questioned, flicking her tail nervously. Freddie turned to her friend and shook her head, giving her an encouraging smile.

‘’You can trust Brianna. She’s my soulmate.”

‘’Uhm…what?” Joan questioned. Brianna chuckled softly. This wasn’t exactly how she thought her day would go, but it appeared that she had to explain everything that happened, now. There was no more avoiding the subject: four mermaids, in the flesh, were blinking up at them, and Brianna was seen making out with one of them. She clearly owed her friends an explanation.

She told them everything, smiling when Freddie shyly cut in with a few details herself. The humans and the mermaids all stared, eyes wide and jaws hanging open as they listened to the story of Freddie saving Brianna from the ship crash, the soul-bond, the wrath of the Sea Goddess. Brianna was sure she sounded insane, but what was normal about this situation, after all?

Silence fell on them after they were finished. Everyone needed time to digest what they heard.

‘’Okay, that’s…a lot.” Joan admitted with a hum. She shook her head, still trying to wake up from her daze. ‘’We noticed that you were acting so weird lately, and we thought you were hooking up with someone, so we followed you, and…we surely didn’t expect your paramour to be a mermaid.”

‘’I really am sorry, that I haven’t told you.” Brianna said. ‘’But you can’t tell anyone, okay? Already way too many people saw Freddie and her friends, we don’t need any more.”

‘’I won’t tell anyone.” Tamara swore, crossing her heart. Regina and Joan nodded in agreement, and Brianna deflated. As shocking as the situation was, it was still for the better that they were discovered by her friends, and not by someone else. In a way, it would make it easier for her not to carry this secret around forever. If there was someone she could really trust, it was those three.

‘’And you can’t tell my parents.” Freddie pleaded to her own friends. ‘’Or anyone, really. No one can know!”

‘’Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone.” Phoebe assured her. ‘’Just be careful, Freddie.”

‘’And be careful, Brianna.” Joan warned her softly. ‘’If we could track you down so easily, then someone else can, too.”

‘’We will be careful.” Brianna promised. She bit her lip. Her friends were right: both her and Freddie were easily followed, and she wasn’t too fond on being discovered by any sides. If Freddie’s parents find out, they will lock their daughter away for good. And if a human with less kind intentions will…Brianna didn’t even want to think about that.

Maybe they should have looked for a different spot on the beach- there was no other way for them to meet, after all. She couldn’t just take Freddie to the city with her, she couldn’t breathe on dry land.

She watched as her friends and Freddie’s friends slowly warmed up to each other: Petra was asking Regina a million questions about human clothes, Phoebe seemed to be fascinated by Joan’s shoelaces, and Etta appeared to be…flirting with Tamara, perhaps? It was good to see them moving past the initial shock: both parties realized they could trust one another.

Her eyes met Freddie’s, and her mermaid smiled at her.

‘’I’m sorry.” She said softly, blushing. ‘’I didn’t realize my friends would follow me.”

‘’Me neither.” Brianna laughed. She tucked a lock of hair behind Freddie’s ear with a thoughtful hum.

‘’They are right, we really need to be careful. We have to meet somewhere where no other human will see us.”

Freddie’s smile turned almost mischievous, and Brianna could feel the excitement through their bond. Freddie giggled, eyes sparkling.

‘’I know just the place for us, darling.”


	9. Deep Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie takes Brianna somewhere private.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm terribly irregulate with the updates on this, and I'm sorry! I try my best to keep myself on track, but it's not always easy 😂

How the idea so far hadn’t crossed her mind, was beyond Brianna.

She was a doctor, with a diploma in marine biology, and yet, she hadn’t thought of the possibility that instead of trying to get Freddie above the surface at all times, she could be very well going under herself.

Freddie was endlessly fascinated by humans’ ability to dive under water- in fact, she didn’t even want to believe Brianna at first when her soulmate presented her with the fact.

‘’You’re joking,” Freddie had said, pouting at Brianna, fully believing that her human lover was just messing with her, and she didn’t seem to appreciate it. ‘’Humans can’t breathe under water.”

‘’Well, we usually can’t,” Brianna explained with a smile, finding Freddie’s offended expression amusing to no end. ‘’But we have an equipment that allows us to do so.”

‘’How?”

Watching the frown of disbelief slowly vanishing from Freddie’s face, to be replaced by genuine awe was always a beautiful experience. She was so eager to learn about the human world, curious and extremely intelligent- she was presented with so many alien concepts, laws of a world that was so unfamiliar to her, but she always listened patiently, asking a million questions and gazing up at Brianna like she was the smartest person in the entire world. To Freddie, she probably was: she was her main source of information, providing bits and pieces of a world different from one of a mermaid’s. Brianna had the feeling, that even if Freddie could find information from someone else, she would still look at Brianna like that, like she was able to hold all the stars in her hands, and frankly, Brianna doubted she could ever get tired of that look.

She explained how diving worked, how humans had oxygen tanks attached to them to let them breathe, and Freddie’s mind, once again, was completely blown away.

‘’You humans are incredible.” She whispered with awe, chin resting on her folded hands. She gave Brianna a mellow smile, one that lit up her entire face. ‘’You can truly rule all the elements. You know how to start a fire, you can travel through water, dig up treasures from under the earth, and you can capture air, too!”

Brianna laughed softly. ‘’Can’t rule them quite as much as your Goddesses, clearly.”

It unnerved her, what Freddie told her about the Sea Goddess- an appropriate reaction to have after being told the end of the world is very possibly dawning near. It was something Brianna and her activist friends had been desperately preaching for years now, mostly finding deaf ears and closed minds. With how bad global warming was becoming, the weather drastic and unpredictable, the constant pollution and the never-ending illegal hunting of endangered species, it was really only a matter of time. Still, Brianna was growing anxious. She had absolutely no idea, how a mere human- or even a magical being like Freddie- could stop the impending doom. Right now, she had to make sure every minute spent with Freddie would count: she would spend as much time with her soulmate as possible, protecting her from any threat like she promised. She would continue doing her job, fighting the good fight, and hope for the best. In the face of such a major threat, right now, that was the most she could do.

There wasn’t possibly a greater way to do that, than sinking into Freddie’s very own world, letting her be her guide in the deep.

She couldn’t help but laugh at Freddie’s alarmed look when she appeared on their usual rock, dressed head to toe in her diving suit. Truth be told, she must have been a sight in skin-tight spandex. 

Suddenly, she felt a little self-conscious, hunching in on herself slightly.

‘’This is what I have to wear under the water.” She explained, legs crossed awkwardly. ‘’Looks a little weird, doesn’t it?”

Freddie tilted her head to the side, inspecting the suit. She regarded Brianna all over with her curious look, then she broke into a soft smile.

‘’I can see your shape more.” She noted, a cheeky grin edging into her voice. ‘’Pretty.”

Brianna flushed a deep scarlet, but she couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a pleased smile. None of her previous lovers had complimented her as much as Freddie did, and honestly, she was soaking in the praises happily.

Freddie’s eyes slipped lower, and she let out a soft giggle. ‘’Your feet look almost like my tail!”

Brianna grinned back at her, tapping the fins against the rock. She almost ended up explaining how they helped her swim more efficiently, but then she realized, no one knew that quite as well than a mermaid.

‘’I won’t be able to speak.” Brianna warned Freddie softly, while attaching the air tank to her suit. ‘’I can try communicating with my mind.”

Sometimes, she had trouble with that- they could usually talk to each other through the bond, but on Brianna’s part- considering she wasn’t a magical creature- it was sometimes a little wobbly, uncertain. Freddie, on the other hand, easily guided her through it, patiently waiting until Brianna could gather her jumbled-up thoughts enough to actually speak.

‘’Fine by me.” Freddie replied, watching curiously as Brianna secured the last parts of her diving suit. She frowned a little when Brianna put on the mask and the snorkel, clearly not appreciating not being able to see her lover’s face completely. But as restless as she often was, she was also extremely empathic and understanding: she understood that Brianna needed all those pieces to survive underwater, and so she didn’t make a single comment.

When Brianna was finally done, she nodded at Freddie, giving her a somewhat awkward smile around the snorkel. Freddie reached her hand out of her with an encouraging smile, and Brianna took it, excitement spiking her blood.

She dove many times before, but this felt just like the first time: she had the chance to look at that world from a completely different angle, the way Freddie, someone who actually lived there, saw it. The chance of swimming with her soulmate filled her heart with comfortable, reassuring warmth; every single second she was with Freddie was the most precious of her entire day, but this was so new, so thrilling, finally abandoning the usual rock where anyone could easily spot them- and had spotted them, Brianna thought with a little chuckle, as she remembered the ridiculous encounter from a few days prior. Freddie promised her she would take her to the depths where merfolk rarely went: from what Brianna gathered, merfolk wasn’t the type to stray too far from their home- except for Freddie, of course, who seemed to prefer living by her own rules.

It will only be just the two of them, hidden away from anyone else: the ocean will be their safe haven, shielding them by wrapping them up in a dark, cool embrace.

Brianna closed her eyes, relaxing her muscles. She let Freddie pull her forward, and she fell into the water with much more grace than she expected. The water was cold, even through the suit, and her muscles jumped under her skin from the impact. She opened her eyes once she sunk under the surface, Freddie still holding her hand.

Brianna was certain the sea will never cease to amaze her. She couldn’t understand how scuba diving wasn’t on everyone’s bucket list: nothing could compare to the feeling of the water pressure bearing down on her muscles, the sight of the endless, clear blue around her. Brianna didn’t know what it would feel like to fly, but somehow, she was sure swimming in the sea was just like floating in the skye.

She finally had a chance to see Freddie actually swimming, and the sight was just as breathtaking as she imagined it would be: her yellow tail, like liquid gold, swirling so elegantly, Brianna felt mesmerized by watching it. She couldn’t resist reaching out and running her finger across it, feeling the smooth scales under her skin. Freddie sent her a surprised look, then she smiled, allowing the human to indulge.

The realization of what a unique creature Freddie was, hit Brianna with full force as she adored her body moving before hers. Her soft black hair appeared to be even silkier, floating behind her. The rays of the Sun that reached under the surface reflected off her curls, making her look like as if someone put golden highlights in her hair. Her body seemed weightless underwater, every dip and curve emphasized with her elegant movements.

Brianna was so caught-up in staring at Freddie, she needed several seconds to snap out of her trance, and notice that beautiful world that surrounded them.

She had seen it before, the wildlife and the crazy formations that grew in the sea, but it was all so different with Freddie leading her through it, making her feel like she was as part of that world like Freddie was.

They swam past a coral reef, nearly as tall as a building with its impressive branches reaching towards the surface to catch the sunlight. The reef glimmered in almost every color of the rainbow: blood-red, deep blue, soft lime green and vibrant orange everywhere Brianna looked, and she nearly got dizzy from looking at it. She reached out to touch a branch, gently squeezing the spongy, soft texture. She felt like such a first-timer, marveling at things she had seen many times before- but then again, the sea was always a phenomenon to be awed by, no matter how many times one experienced it. She squeezed Freddie’s hand tighter, a wide smile plastered to her face.

Plenty of small fish swam around the reef, moving so swiftly, it was almost impossible to catch them in a still moment. They swam by Brianna cautiously, fluttering out of her way to float by Freddie instead. Some of them swam so close, their slick bodies slid against Freddie’s side.

‘’They trust you,” Brianna sent the thought through their bond, hoping it would go across without trouble. Freddie smiled, giving a small shrug.

‘’They are used to me. Don’t tell them I said that, but many fish are a little… how should I say that… they are not very smart. I eat them for breakfast, and still, they get so close to me.”

So, this is the type of fish Freddie eats, Brianna noted. Butterfish, forage fish, flounder. The thought sometimes still made her cringe: but this was Freddie’s world, and she needed to respect that. Besides, while humans had the choice to go vegan, merfolk probably didn’t have the same option.

In the company of a familiar chirping sound, Delilah appeared, nudging at Freddie. The mermaid gave her a gentle hug, patting her head. Delilah pulled away, staring at Brianna. Then, after a few seconds of hesitation, she started nudging at her, too.

‘’She wants you to give her a hug!” Freddie laughed, clapping her hands in delight. Brianna cooed, opening her arms for the dolphin to swim into. It felt like such an honor, to be accepted by the sassy Delilah, the beloved pet of her soulmate. They truly were like cats.

‘’It seems like she took a liking to me.” Brianna said, petting Delilah’s side. The dolphin purred softly, nuzzling into Brianna’s chest.

‘’She can tell if someone has a good heart.” Freddie replied, and there was that look again, the one that made Brianna feel like she was on top of the world every single time. She damned not being able to kiss Freddie right now. She resorted to giving her hand another squeeze, rubbing the back of it with her thumb.

‘’That is why she’s your pet.” Brianna noted softly. ‘’You have the sweetest heart in the entire world.”

Freddie blushed softly, swinging their joined hands like a shy schoolgirl with a crush, still so unabashedly happy and flustered by every single compliment she received. She could go from cheekily flirty to soft and shy in the blink of an eye: another reminder of how eerily similar merfolk were to human, with the same complex, sometimes difficult personalities.

‘’How did your friends take the meeting with my friends?” Brianna asked, unable to keep the grin out of her mental voice. She received a smack over the head from Regina once they left the beach, an entire monologue on lying and sneaking around from Tamara, and a somewhat disappointed, somewhat amused look from Joan. Her friends clearly had a hard time wrapping their heads around what they just saw, and Brianna didn’t blame them. After all, she couldn’t quite believe it herself, at first, denying that Freddie even existed. It couldn’t have been easy for them to not only encounter a bunch of mermaids, but also learn about the madness of soul-bonds and the possible catastrophe that was awaiting them. Quite a lot to process in the span of one afternoon, even with friends so understanding and acceptive as Brianna’s.

‘’They worry about me.” Freddie admitted. ‘’They had been from the moment I told them about saving you from the crash. But they are also happy for me.” She let out a soft laugh. ‘’Etta hasn’t shut up about Tamara ever since. I think she finds her quite attractive.”

Brianna chuckled, remembering how the mermaid kept making eyes at her friend. ‘’I might just tell Tamara this, to pump her ego. Though it’s already too big, it might burst if I do that.”

‘’Your friends seemed nice. Regina and Joan… are they a couple? I noticed the way they were looking at one another.”

‘’They are married.” Brianna explained with a soft smile. ‘’They have a baby, too.”

‘’A child!” Freddie gasped in utter delight, eyes bright. ‘’Oh, that’s just wonderful! The little ones are so adorable!” Her smile suddenly turned into a frown. ‘’How do humans make babies?” 

Brianna nearly choked around the snorkel. She kind of expected this topic to come up some day, but it still caught her off-guard. She didn’t have an answer prepared.

‘’Uhm, well… it’s like, a male and a female… they do it. Erm, they make babies. Together.”

‘’Like we do.” Freddie stated. Brianna was strangely comforted by the thought of merfolk biology not being so vastly different, after all. She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle a different answer.

‘’So, how did Regina and Joan make a child? Aren’t they both female?”

How Brianna was supposed to explain artificial insemination to a mermaid, she wasn’t sure. She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, fingers tangling in her damp curls.

‘’Well, uhm. Sometimes, when two females fall in love, and they want a baby together, they might need the help of a male with that. He, uhm, gives his…sperm…it’s what males have, that makes children…”

‘’I see.” Freddie said, cutting her embarrassing monologue short. She gave a small smile. ‘’Is loving another female or another male as common as amongst merfolk?”

‘’Well, it’s not exactly unheard of, but not many people are comfortable with it, unfortunately.” Brianna explained. That made Freddie frown softly.

‘’Why?”

Brianna gave a soft sigh. Because many people were horrible, scared of the different and scared of the changes, stuck in one place and ostracizing those they deemed an anomaly in their world. Freddie was so innocent, not having experienced the unfortunate ranges a human’s hatred could achieve, and Brianna didn’t want to destroy that sweet naivety. She wanted to give enough information to not be dishonest, but not enough to break her heart.

‘’Some people are just mean, unfortunately.” Brianna said, reaching out to ruffle Freddie’s hair. The mermaid hummed a little sadly, then she raised her head, noticing something behind Brianna. She smiled, the previous bitterness gone from her face. 

Brianna followed her look, and the blood ran cold in her veins.

She was staring straight into the face of a white shark, black, beady eyes unblinking, and razor-sharp teeth hanging out of its mouth. White sharks usually didn’t dare getting that close to a human- Brianna firmly believed they were extremely important for the ecosystem and keeping the marine food chain in balance, and that they received too much of a bad rep, but no matter how defensive she was of the top predator of the oceans, being this close to one still made her stomach cramp with nerves.

The only reason she didn’t start panicking, was Freddie and Delilah, who seemed completely unaffected. In fact, Freddie even seemed happy.

‘’Hey, big boy.”

Brianna watched with a mix of horror and awe as Freddie petted the shark’s head. The large animal flinched a little, then relaxed, letting Freddie caress it to her heart’s content.

Freddie glanced back at her, noticing her wariness. She gave her a soft smile, waving to her to beckon her closer.

‘’You don’t have to be afraid.” Freddie promised. ‘’Look how slow he is. He just had a big lunch, didn’t you?” She cooed, patting the shark’s side. ‘’He’s not going to hurt us.”

The curiosity of the scientist overrode Brianna’s fear, and she inched closer, reaching out a tentative, slightly shaking hand. This was quite a revolutionary experience of her life: she has never seen a white shark from up close. She rescued smaller sharks before, but never met the king of the sharks, never experienced the sheer power oozing from the animal. Her fingertips skimmed the cold skin, carefully; instead of lashing out and biting her hand clean off, the shark remained perfectly calm. He only moved to roll onto his back, exposing his stomach.

‘’He wants belly rubs!” Freddie giggled, and this time, Brianna laughed with her. If dolphins were the cats of the sea, then sharks were the dogs. She petted the shark’s stomach, still unable to believe what she was experiencing right here. She didn’t just meet a white shark: she touched it, she rubbed its belly like it was a cute puppy. Her friends won’t believe her, that much was for sure.

The shark sniffed at Delilah, and the dolphin gave him an unimpressed look. Absolutely like cats and dogs, Brianna thought, amused. The shark eventually decided spending that much time in the company of a human was too distressing, and he swam away, casting a dark shadow over them as he moved along.

‘’This was incredible.” Brianna whispered, not even her brain able to pick up a louder volume. Freddie smiled, basking in Brianna’s excitement.

‘’Sharks are actually really friendly, when they are not hungry or scared.” Freddie explained. Brianna gazed up as a large, black stingray floated above her, and her heart fluttered in excitement.

She has never felt more at home at any other place- not even in the research center. The sea, strangely, even though a little foreign and at times intimidating, gave her a sense of belonging like nothing else. It felt like coming home at last; it felt like meeting Freddie, finding the soulmate her heart had been aching for her whole life. 

‘’I really like being here.” Brianna stated, snaking an arm around Freddie’s waist and pulling her close. The mermaid placed her own hands on her shoulder, molding her body against her sweetly. She looked up at Brianna from under her lashes, her smile wide and genuine.

‘’I really like you being here, with me.”

She leaned up and placed a small kiss on the snorkel, making Brianna smile. She patted Freddie’s hip playfully, rubbing her thumbs over her scales. Freddie let out a blissful sigh, resting her head against Brianna’s chest. Delilah watched them from a polite distance- if she were a human, she would probably roll her eyes at the sappy lovers.

But Brianna didn’t mind: everything was perfect under the sea, in the arms of the love of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna defend sharks with my last dying breath, okay?


	10. Claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything falls apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with another totally random update- this chapter is not a very fluffy one, so please, read with caution!

’’So, I won’t be seeing you today?” Freddie asked in the company of a pout, even though she knew Brianna couldn’t see it, not right now. And she won’t be seeing it later, either, as it seemed: Freddie could feel the heavy cloud of melancholy weighing down on her heart at the thought of missing a rendezvous with her soulmate.

‘’I’m sorry.” Brianna’s mental voice was a little weak, but Freddie could hear the guilt in it. ‘’I knew I promised, but something came up.”

‘’Important things?” Freddie asked, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger nervously. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust Brianna, or thought that her soulmate was lying to her. Simply, she missed her so much, every second of every day, and the knowledge that she won’t be seeing that beautiful face soon, was killing her inside.

‘’Yes. You know, that accident with the ship gave us a lot of paperwork. It’s…boring human stuff, but it needs to be done, and we are at a shortage right now. Trust me, Freddie, if I could, I would be with you right now. There’s nothing I’d want more.”

Despite the sadness gripping at her heart, Freddie couldn’t help a small smile. Brianna truly loved her- even if their worlds were separated, making it more difficult for them to meet, the human really cared about her. Brianna had every right to bail on her: surely, it wasn’t all that easy for her to be in love with a creature so different from herself, to constantly have to crouch on a rock or dive just to be with Freddie. But she always held on, never showing any sign of being uncomfortable- not with loving Freddie, at the least. There was something in her eyes, though, a strange kind of longing as she looked over the endless sea, and especially when she dove. Freddie wasn’t sure what it was- Brianna didn’t seem unhappy, by all means, it just felt like she needed something she couldn’t quite articulate yet.

‘’And tomorrow?” Freddie asked hopefully. She knew she must have looked a sight to the other merfolk in the cave, lying on her stomach with a dreamy look on her face as she talked to her soulmate through her mind. Maybe they were getting suspicious, a little bit. Freddie caught the eyes of her father, and felt her stomach drop. Surely they couldn’t figure it out, could they? Freddie was sure her friends wouldn’t spill her secret. No one else knew, but them.

She waved away these less than pleasant thoughts, focusing on Brianna’s kind voice in her head instead.

‘’Of course. I’ll make sure I’ll be free, love.”

Freddie hid her smile behind her hand, trying not to bring too much attention to herself. She heard Petra faintly chuckling in the background, clearly realizing what Freddie was doing.

‘’I can’t wait.” Freddie replied, already feeling sparks of excitement racing along her spine at the thought of seeing Brianna soon. Her sadness over their meeting delayed was soon forgotten, as she started thinking about how many more things she could show Brianna. She was certain Brianna would love the octopi. 

‘’Love you.” Brianna said softly. Freddie could just imagine her kind face, eyes crinkling with her smile.

‘’Love you too.”

Freddie rolled onto her back with a soft sigh, enjoying the pleasant warmth their conversation invoked inside her. Just talking to Brianna could make her so happy like nothing else: truly everything was right in the world, the Sea Goddess’ wrath and shifty businessmen aside, while she had her soulmate.

Her happy little bubble was burst by her father, who appeared at her side so quickly, Freddie barely had time to react. She gulped as Bomi’s searching eyes bore into hers; the interrogation would begin soon.

‘’You are so deeply in your thoughts nowadays.” Bomi grumbled, eyes narrow, suspicious slits. ‘’And don’t think we didn’t notice how often you stray.”

Her heart dropped, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She thought she was careful enough, that her parents didn’t notice her sneaking out- clearly nothing was hidden from Bomi and Jer, it seemed.

‘’Just my usual quests.” Freddie replied quickly, aiming for a smooth tone as she desperately tried to hide just how nervous she was. She could handle her parents scolding her for being so disobedient, but she would fall apart if they forbade her to leave the cave again- she simply had to see Brianna. Not even her parents could keep her away from her.

‘’Really?” Bomi questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘’You are acting so strange, Freddie. You are not swimming too close to the human world, are you, now?”

The question caught Freddie off-guard, causing her to blink rapidly. She got as close to their world as possible- and if her father found out, she would never be allowed to leave the cave again. It was a wonder they hadn’t sealed her away already. If they knew, that Freddie’s heart belonged to a human, and she kept sneaking out, just to meet her, she would be in deep trouble.

‘’I…I’m always careful, Father.” Freddie promised with a sweet smile, hoping to calm Bomi a bit. ‘’I try not to get too close to the humans. You told me not to, and I’m trying to keep my promise.”

It was a white lie, but it was all Freddie had right now. Bomi was absolutely aware, that Freddie wasn’t one to abide by the rules- his look of utter disbelief and suspicion showed that much.

Her father hummed, eyes shifting to stare at the smaller rocks at the bottom of the cave. He may have not believed Freddie completely, but he seemed to be soothed by her answer, for now, at least.

Just when Freddie thought she would be left alone, and could go back to daydreaming about Brianna in peace, her father spoke again:

‘’Somehow, I thought you were longing for the contact of humans. Or is that not why you have that human made of stone in your possession?”

The blood ran cold inside Freddie’s vein immediately. That statue was her secret object of comfort, a piece of that stranger world she so desperately wanted to know more about; a beautiful totem, that she held so dear, even before she found out she was destined to fall in love with a human. It was a replacement when Brianna wasn’t around physically, something pretty and familiar to look at, to settle her soul. She kept that bust hidden in her corner, only taking it out and looking at it when she was sure no one was around to see it. It was her little treasure, something that could connect her to Brianna’s world, something so private and personal, and her father just found out about it.

‘’I…don’t know what you mean.” Freddie was aware her voice was weak, shaky. She hated being caught off-guard, hated when she had no control over her own life: her father had taken that control away from her, not giving her a real chance to explain or defend herself, and it made the scales on her tail crawl with nerves.

Bomi all but growled at her, pushing himself up on his tail higher to tower over Freddie. If he was angry before, now he was furious, realizing his daughter would defend her secret by lying through her teeth, even after so obviously busted.

‘’Of course you know, what I mean!” Bomi snapped. The rest of the merfolk raised their heads, looking on curiously. When Bomi snarled at them, they all turned away, acting uninterested.

‘’I needed to know what has gotten into you lately, and so I searched around your corner- and then I found that…human thing.” He spat the words out like bitter venom, visibly disgusted. ‘’Is this what’s going on, Freddie? You’re mingling with humans?”

Freddie’s brain couldn’t comprehend the question, not through the red fog of anger covering her conscious. She was used to the prying questions, to her parents constantly overdoing the worrying over her: but they had never crossed such a line before, digging through so many intimate memories that they weren’t supposed to know about. They didn’t just take the control away, without Freddie realizing: they stomped over it.

‘’Why would you go through my things like that!?” Freddie yelled, not caring in the slightest about who else heard it. She could see her friends, from the corner of her eyes, huddled together and shaking her heads at her, silently begging her not to make the situation worse for herself. Petra had her face buried in her hands, not even wanting to see the catastrophe that was about to strike. Etta gesticulated heavily, and Phoebe was desperately mouthing ‘no.’

But at this point, Freddie was so angry, so fed up with this- she was taught to fear humans her whole life, constantly told that her place was always by her parents’ side. She wasn’t scared like them, cowering away in her cave and blindly believing all humans were evil: she had the living proof, Brianna, to show it wasn’t true. Brianna’s friends weren’t evil, either. There were so many bad people, but so many good ones, too: Freddie had enough of being told that world was something to be wary of, when the love of her life came from that same world.

‘’That was private! Something I hold dear, and you just disregarded it!” Freddie screamed, angry tears filling and burning her eyes. Kareem watched her with great sympathy, wringing his hands. He clearly didn’t know if interfering would help, or just make this even worse.

‘’How could you hold something that came from humans, dear?” Bomi hissed, eyes ablaze with anger. ‘’Nothing they put their murderous hands on, can be dear!”

‘’You don’t know them!” Anger has taken over completely. Freddie was hurt, she missed Brianna, she was tired of being sheltered like this, lied to and dismissed, all in the name of protection. She wasn’t even sure humans were the ones she needed protection from.

‘’They are not like you claim! They don’t deserve the wrath of the Goddess, which, by the way, you kept a secret from me! You don’t tell me anything, you lie to me, claiming that only merfolk can be soulmates and that humans are all evil, and I know none of that is true, no one knows that better than me…!”

The silence was deafening. The only, faint sound that could be heard was Freddie’s panting, as her chest heaved with anger. She stared her father in the eye, hands balled into defiant fists by her side.  
It was only the genuine surprise in Bomi’s eyes, that made her realize her mistake.

‘’How…how would you know it’s not true?” Bomi stammered, losing his confidence for the first time since he lashed out at his daughter. His eyes were wide, anger slowly replaced by panic.

‘’Freddie, are you…you are with a human?”

The way he put the pieces together made his face scrunch up in a frown, and Freddie covered her mouth with her hand, cheeks turning ghastly pale. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She promised Brianna she would be careful, that she would never tell anyone- it was their secret, something that would get them both in trouble if the truth got out.

And now it did, all because of Freddie’s hurt emotions.

She could feel the eyes on her, burning holes into her skin. Her three friends looked desperate, Kareem looked shocked, and Jer looked she was going to be sick. Faint whispers murmured through the cave, the panic slowly overtaking the merfolk upon realizing that Freddie was sneaking out to see their enemy. In their eyes, it meant that Freddie endangered them.

Freddie inched backwards slowly, heart pounding painfully hard in her chest. She had to get away from here. She had to go somewhere else, anywhere else. She had to warn Brianna, come up with something quick. But she couldn’t look her parents and the rest of the merfolk in the eyes right now.

She turned around quickly, ignoring the gasps and the yells of her parents. She swam, faster than she ever had before, pushing past the other mermaids and mermen. Even the guards couldn’t keep her up: she swam by them dizzyingly fast, a blur of black and yellow as she made her desperate escape.

Delilah joined her, chirping loudly as she tried to keep up with her. Angry and desperate tears flowed from Freddie’s eyes, blending in with the salty water of the ocean as she just swam and swam, getting as far away from the cave as possible. She disturbed several small fish and jellyfish on her way, making the animals scurry away in fear as she relentlessly pushed her way forward.

She was such an idiot. She ruined all that she and Brianna had, only because she got so mad at her father for not leaving her alone. Now, she set off a panic reaction amongst the rest of the merfolk; there was no way she wouldn’t be guarded constantly from now on, which meant she wouldn’t be able to see Brianna again. And life simply wasn’t worth living, if Brianna wasn’t it: Freddie needed her, like she needed the sea, like Brianna herself needed air. She couldn’t lose this all, couldn’t lose her.

She desperately tried to reach out to Brianna, to tell her about what happened. She was so smart, she must be able to find a solution. No matter how hard she kept trying, though, she couldn’t get through to her: Brianna’s mind must have been already occupied by her work, too busy to listen to Freddie right now. Freddie choked back a sob, wiping at her eyes. She pleaded inside, hoping it would somehow still reach Brianna. God knows, she needed her soulmate now more than ever.

A loud, distressed cry of Delilah made her whip around, but it was already too late: she felt something rough and sturdy come in contact with her body, the material uncomfortable and cruel against her sensitive skin. She kicked out in fear, trying to reach for Delilah who stared back at her with frightened eyes, crying desperately.

The net tightened around her body, and Freddie felt her heart stutter in panic. Several small fish was trapped with her, writhing in their trap. There was no way out, Freddie realized in horror as the net started lifting, pulling her towards the surface.

‘’Go!” She yelled at Delilah, making her dolphin whip around and swim away, crying all the way. At least she was safe- at least this was a little bit of comfort.

Freddie closed her eyes against the heavy sunshine that poured into her eyes as the net broke through the surface, lifted into the air by a metal claw. It was pulled in, and then dropped with a heavy thud, every single movement so cruel and painful, as if it didn’t matter there were living creatures in that net.

Freddie felt the pain shot through her hip where her torso disappeared into her tail. She was lying on something hard and cold, and the nest was digging into her skin everywhere, raw and itchy.  
She looked around with wide eyes, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The place looked somewhat familiar, crafted so skillfully by human hands, so many unfamiliar equipment and strange materials…

It was a boat. She was on a boat- and something told Freddie, that she didn’t end up on the right one.

‘’Did we catch the dolphin?” A voice asked, deep and gruff. Freddie flailed around, trying to wriggle out of the net before she was discovered.

‘’Nah, it doesn’t seem like it. We caught something, though…WHAT THE FUCK!?”

Sheer fear froze Freddie to the bone as two humans leaned over her, eyes so wide they nearly bulged out of the heads. They stared at her, jaws hanging open. One of them reached out, slipping his hand in through the holes of the net to touch her tail, and Freddie curled it up with a hiss. The man took a faltering step back, shaking his head.

‘’Dude, you’re…you’re seeing this, right? I’m not fucking crazy, am I?”

‘’No.” The other one said, crouching down to be closer to Freddie. She flailed around again, but there was no escape. She only managed to tangle herself in the net even more.

The second man tugged on her tail, so harsh it made Freddie’s eyes water. The guy broke into a huge grin, one of awe and disbelief.

‘’It’s not coming off, it’s fucking real.” He said, still grinning. Freddie didn’t like that smile: it wasn’t soft like Brianna’s. It was cruel.

‘’We caught a fucking mermaid!”

The first man crouched next to him, eyeing Freddie through the net. He whistled loudly, making Freddie flinch.

‘’Fuck, look at it. This is fucking gorgeous!”

He elbowed the other one, cackling. ‘’Maybe we could just keep it, you know? I’m sure I could find it a good purpose.”

Freddie’s chest tightened, both with fear and running out of air. She could be above the surface, but only if at least her tail was still in the water, retrieving the pressure her cells needed. She couldn’t lie on the dry ground, though, without heaving. The small fish, accidentally caught, were withering by her side slowly, gaping for air.

‘’No.” The other guy said, petting Freddie’s hair. He frowned when she wheezed, mouth agape on a desperate attempt to keep herself alive.

‘’Let’s get this thing some water, and head back to the shore,” he said, eyes full of greed and hunger as he ran them over Freddie, ‘’Mr. Sheffield is going to pay us a good fortune for this one.”

\--

Something was not right, Brianna could tell. She had been feeling anxious, on the edge of her seat the whole day, which didn’t make any sense, considering she was only digging through boring legal documents.

But after a while, it became impossible to ignore that feeling. Something was just off- she didn’t know what, but she could sense it.

‘’I’m taking a break.” She announced after an hour, not waiting for Charlie’s reply before all but storming out of the office. Her skin was itchy, her head was pounding, mind consumed by an unfamiliar panic. She could barely breathe- it felt like she was running out of oxygen. She was in trouble, something bad was happening…

It was by a deep, unfamiliar instinct- one that has never spoken up before she met Freddie- that she could tell it wasn’t her, that was in trouble. 

She was sensing what her soulmate was going through.

Brianna’s eyes widened in panic, clutching a hand over her chest in agony. She tried calling out to Freddie, ask her what happened- but no answer came. It was just blank, silent darkness, nothing else.  
Her eyes filled with tears, and she wringed her hands into her hair, pulling on it in frustration. She didn’t know what to do: Freddie was in danger, and she couldn’t reach her. She should have skipped work today, should have been with her soulmate instead. But she wasn’t, and something bad happened to Freddie.

It was all her fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so...I'm sorry.


	11. The King of The Sleaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie's in big trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, there! I know I've been a little lousy with this story lately- I was caught up in my fic for Froger Week, and also exams coming up in two weeks so I'm preparing for those, too! So, I was a little busy, but here I am again! There's some derogatory language in this, mostly directed at   
>  women and animals, so please, read with caution!

When Freddie next opened her eyes, she was surrounded by the silky embrace of salty water. Her body floated, weightless, and she sighed softly, rolling her muscles. They were somewhat taut, knotted under her skin, and her joints popped in protests when she stretched. She felt so tired, like her sleep was just not enough; strange, she was sure she must have fallen asleep, because she had so disturbing dreams, of her father discovering her connection with the human world and thus getting into a fight with him, then getting tangled up in a web of two leering men…

Reality came crashing down, and Freddie’s eyes snapped open fully, panic seizing her throat. Those weren’t dreams: as her mind slowly cleared from its tired haze, she remembered it all in full detail. Bomi discovered the stone human in her cave, and interrogated her over it. She remembered the painful realization, that it meant she might not see Brianna, ever again. She remembered dashing out of the cave, trying to get as far away from the suffocating atmosphere as possible- then the heavy web wrapping around her, digging into her skin. She ended up on a boat, and two humans peered down at her, grins that resembled snarls etched onto their faces. They touched her, tugged on her tail and her hair. It hurt. She couldn’t breathe, she was running out of air, and she couldn’t reach out to Brianna…  
It wasn’t a dream. That really happened.

But why was she back in the ocean, then?

Freddie took a good look around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, she saw water- that was good enough. Something told her, though, that she was not at the right place, not at all. A deep, guttural instinct, that sent shivers down her spine. Something was not right about this water- it was sea water, she could feel the comforting, familiar taste of salt on her lips, but the color was not the rich, deep blue she was used to. It was much lighter, too transparent. Even the Sun shone in such a weird way. The sunlight wasn’t warm, it was cold, almost white and too bright.

There was none of the wilderness that Freddie called her home. Not a single fish in sight, not a plant, not even a tiny plankton. Even if she explored parts of the sea where animals rarely went to, she still felt the life around her. The sea was never empty, even with its deepest depths. It thrived with nature, full of life, colors and smells that the humans could only dream about experiencing. Freddie saw it all. It was her life, she knew every single coral like the back of her hand.

Whatever weird place she was floating at right now, it was empty, lifeless.

But it wouldn’t have made sense for those men to throw her back into the sea, would it? They were all too enthusiastic about having caught a mermaid. Their eyes were so dark, so hungry, their hands cold and rough. Such a sharp contrast to Freddie’s own human. She missed Brianna’s warm hands, her beautiful, gentle eyes and soft voice. She was nothing like those two on the ship, talking about her like she was nothing more than the small fish that also tangled in their net. Like she was an animal. Brianna told Freddie, that some people didn’t think of animals as worthy; while she loved and protected them, some people only cared about them as long as they profited from them. Freddie immediately knew these men were exactly like that; they talked about getting money for bringing Freddie… where exactly did they bring her?

_Mr. Sheffield is going to pay us a good fortune for this one._

Panic sunk its sharp claws into Freddie’s heart, and despite being underwater, suddenly she felt like she couldn’t breathe. All that hazy fog that covered her brain after she passed out, cleared completely. Brianna told her all about that man. He was the one who took that poor dolphin away from them. He was the one who abused animals for entertainment, who only cared about the money. Freddie was in his clutches.

Freddie darted forward, her tail wriggling with distress as she slid through the unnaturally smooth water. She couldn’t see, couldn’t comprehend anything; she had to get out of here somehow. When her parents warned her about humans, they meant people like Sheffield. Brianna was so bitter when she talked about him. She knew how dangerous he was. Freddie ended up in one of the worst places possible.

She only realized in the very last minute, that she was swimming towards another mermaid, one that looked exactly like her, just a little more blurry. Her head collided with something hard, and she squeaked in pain, stumbling back. Freddie rubbed at her sore nose, narrowing her eyes at the mermaid suspiciously. She had black hair, dark skin and eyes like her, rubbing her own nose. Freddie blinked in surprise, and the other mermaid blinked too.

Did she have a secret twin she never knew about? And did Sheffield get her, too?

She opened her mouth to ask, but then she heard a knocking sound, making her tear her eyes away her doppelganger. 

A man stood before her, lips curled into a smirk. He had a very strange smile: it wasn’t the open grin of the men on the boat, but it didn’t have the warmth of Brianna’s, either. It seemed somewhat strained, as if the man wasn’t certain how to smile properly. It made Freddie feel incredibly at unease. The fact that somehow he stood on the ground, his clothes completely dry, also didn’t help. How was it possible, that the water didn’t reach him? Freddie knew that humans were able to do many mind-blowing things, but being able to control the elements like that didn’t seem likely. He must have been very, very powerful.

‘’Silly thing,” the man laughed, his voice dripping with condescension. ‘’That’s just your reflection.”

How she was supposed to know that, Freddie had no idea. She didn’t like the way this man spoke, like he thought she had no brains whatsoever. The way his eyes traveled over her body felt all wrong, and she covered her chest self-consciously. She remembered Brianna saying that it was uncommon amongst human not to cover their bodies. It seemed like this man was incredibly amused by what he saw, and suddenly Freddie wished she didn’t inhabit a body for him to look at like that.

‘’You’re a real pretty little thing, you know that?” He asked, ignoring the obvious signs of discomfort on Freddie. He continued to ogle her, shamelessly. He raised a hand and laid his palm against the glass that separated them, making Freddie flinch back. That seemed to amuse him to no end, because he let out a soft laugh.

‘’I can’t touch you, don’t be so skittish. Come closer.”

No way, Freddie thought, pulling even further back from the glass. The man tutted, but that unsettling smile was still on his face.

‘’You know,” he started, voice full of wonder, ‘’when those two loons called me with the news they caught a mermaid, I was certain they were drunk out of their minds. ‘This cannot be’, I told them. ‘Mermaids aren’t real. That old Perkins was a demented bastard.’ And then, to my biggest surprise, they are actually rolling in with a mermaid. I couldn’t have it in me to care they didn’t get me a dolphin.”  
His snarl widened, eyes drifting to Freddie’s tail. Freddie curled it back, trying to make herself as small as possible.

‘’They got me something much, much better.” He continued, and Freddie shivered at the awe in his voice. So, this was Sheffield, then. The man he caused so much suffering to the same animals Freddie called her friends. He may not have been hurting Freddie yet, but the look in his eyes, and the way he spoke was enough for Freddie to be wary of him.

‘’Incredible.” Sheffield breathed, his eyes trailing over the scales on Freddie’s tail. He shook his head in disbelief. ‘’Perkins was right all along. He really did catch a mermaid. You… you exist. Are there more of you?”

Freddie pursed her lips into a thin line. It would be a cold day in Hell when she would talk to this man. Sheffield just kept grinning, not too bothered by her lack of answers.

‘’I cannot believe my luck, you know. It’s getting harder and harder to entertain people. They always crave something more exciting. Dolphins and orcas barely do it to them anymore. They want more animals, more extremities. Catching you was all an accident, but God, was it a welcome one!”

He let out a laugh, causing Freddie to flinch again. Her eyes skimmed through her cell, trying to find a way out. The wall she knocked into was hard, her poor nose could tell as much. There was no hole where she could squeeze herself out, not a single crack. This place was crafted meticulously by human hands, proofed to not let her escape. Her heart clenched when she thought about all the animals that were trapped here, probably in similar places she was. Did they even care to make these cells bigger for them? This was way too small for an energetic dolphin! She thought about Delilah, her loyal pet, her adorable little friend, and tears sprung into her eyes. She was nearly caught along with her, just barely escaping the net. She could be here now, too, chirping in distress as she flocked from wall to wall. At least she was safe back home.

Freddie bit her lip. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. What if Sheffield and his goons go back to the sea, to look for more merfolk? They seemed so fascinated by her, surely they want more, just like Sheffield said. What if they find her family, her friends? What if she put them all in danger with her carelessness? If she hadn’t swam away, sulking, she wouldn’t have been caught, and merfolk wouldn’t have been discovered. Her parents were right: she was restless, and put them all at risk.

Unaware and uncaring of her inner turmoil, Sheffield cooed at her. ‘’Don’t look so scared, Baby. I’m going to call you Baby, okay?”

No, that’s not my name, Freddie wanted to scream. She had a name. She was a living, breathing creature, with feelings, but all Sheffield saw was an amusing toy, something he could play with before he gets bored and just throw it away.

‘’Do you understand what I’m saying?” Sheffield asked, arching an eyebrow. Freddie didn’t reply. She didn’t want to speak to this person. She only wanted Brianna, and her safe home back at the sea.

‘’Thought so.” Sheffield chuckled after a few seconds of silence. He shrugged. ‘’Well, I guess that’s better, anyways. Some people have the tendency to be too soft around animals- imagine the utter chaos if you started speaking!” He laughed, clearly imagining it. ‘’They might start wailing about how you have a personality. I remember reading about the Perkins scandal. Many people went off on his ass, claiming that mermaids are just like humans, and he had no right to do what he did. I mean, there are people out there coddling fucking chickens, guess what they would do if they encountered something vaguely human-like, and then it started speaking.”

Freddie felt her stomach twist with disgust. Brianna was right: this man was absolutely horrible. He clearly didn’t care about anyone but himself.

‘’I tell you what, Baby,” he continued, rapping his fingers against the glass, ‘’you’re gonna help my business a bit. You don’t need to do anything, just be pretty and swim around a bit. Like a cute little dolphin, okay? You just need to make sure you’re not very human-like. You’re doing it right so far. Keep quiet, and keep that endearingly dumb look on your face. Oh, and we’re gonna need to put a bikini top on you. As much as I like the view- and I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone with that-, a lot of children come here, so…”

Freddie trembled. Suddenly the water seemed so cold around her. She hated every single word that came out of Sheffield’s mouth, so full of condescension and smugness. He wanted to use her for his own gain, putting her out on display for the whole world to see. Everyone will know merfolk exist. He would bring so much chaos, so much tragedy. He had to be stopped before he got the chance.

She blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears. She was disgusted, straight to her core. She felt so used already, so humiliated. She was so happy, and so in love, and now everything would be ruined.  
‘’We will start your training tomorrow.” Sheffield said. He sighed deeply, almost dreamily. ‘’I’m so glad you came into my life, Baby.”

Freddie bit her lip until she drew blood, shutting her eyes tight. She didn’t want to look at him anymore, didn’t want to hear his voice. She peered down at the ring on her finger, the one Brianna gave her.

She needed to get out of here, fast.

\--

_‘’Brianna…can you hear me?”_

_‘’Freddie! Thank God, I was so worried, where have you been?”_

_‘’I’m in trouble.”_

_‘’…what happened? Tell me everything.”_

Freddie sighed deeply, guilt, fear and pain clutching at her heart, and she obliged.

And Brianna listened, heart as heavy as lead inside her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Was the fin on your back part of the deal? Shark' would be fitting here, considering the theme of the fic, but I love sharks waaaay too much to compare them to this asshole.


	12. Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strategies need to be discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess we can consider this a bit of a filler chapter, but I wanted to cover how the rest of the characters- especially Brianna- are coping with the situation. Also, a small warning: I'm taking five exams next week, so I'm gonna need to take a bigger break to focus on my studies. Then it's Christmas time, and I will be spending time with my family and my girlfriend (and then more exams after christmas hhhh), so updates will be a bit on hold for a while. I'm not abandoning this story, or anything I'm currently writing, I just need some time to rest!

The skies were covered with ominous, dark grey clouds; still quite a few weeks remained of summer, but the weather sure didn’t look it. The temperature was chillier than usual, causing people to switch their thin tank tops and dresses to light jackets and jeans. The world was really going crazy, but no one was sure why.

Brianna did know, and nothing was as thunderous as her own heart. Freddie was in danger. She was captured, away from her home, her family and friends; away from Brianna, all alone, cold and so, so scared. The emotions through their bond were unbearably intense. Sometimes Brianna felt like breaking under the weight of Freddie’s fear combined with her own, their mixed desperation clutching her heart in icy, sharp claws. The skies turned grey when a greedy human once again robbed the sea of its magnificent creature, and with it, Brianna’s heart greyed, too.

She was not a violent person by all means, but her friends literally had to restrict her after she spoke to Freddie. She got up and started marching out with the full intention to go and murder Norman Sheffield, and if it wasn’t for her loyal little group, blood would have been spilled. She has never felt so helplessly angry before. Charlie, and therefore the entire Institute was in his pocket. She had to try and be rational and not risk their own operation.

But she couldn’t just sit back and let Sheffield abuse Freddie. He should have been taken down years ago. His power and wealth just grew and grew, until he pretty much became untouchable. There was no way he could get away this, though. They had to do something, and fast.

She promised Freddie she would warn her friends to be more careful. If Sheffield got too greedy, there was a chance he would send more of his goons out to look for merfolk. They had to make sure at least the rest of them stayed safe. 

How Brianna was going to contact them, she wasn’t so sure. They must have been scared to death over Freddie’s mysterious disappearance, maybe they have already left the area to save themselves from potential dangers. Apparently, singing to the sea attracted merfolk; there was a slim chance it would attract the right ones, and frankly, Brianna found the idea a little hilarious- though she wasn’t in the mood to laugh. She had to trust Freddie and give it a try for her, for the both of them.

‘’What if we attract hostile merfolk?” Joan asked, pulling her denim jacket around herself tighter. ‘’Or simply scare them to death. None of these sounds like a working plan.”

‘’Freddie said her friends hang out a lot around this bay.” Brianna said, pointing towards the small isle of rocks and plants. The rock they chose as their hangout spot whenever she visited Freddie wasn’t all that comfortable either, but the vegetation here grew so tall, it felt like trying to cut through a small jungle. Whatever. This was for Freddie’s sake; Brianna was more than happy to throw herself into the most uncomfortable of situations, if it meant she could help her soulmate.

‘’So, we just…sing, and they are going to come?” Regina asked, skeptical. ‘’Aren’t they supposed to be in hiding all the time?”

‘’Their hearts are simply connected to music.” Brianna explained, a small smile tugging at her lips. ‘’Freddie told me about it. It’s like an elemental force to them. They sing a lot.”

Freddie sung to her once, and it was the most magical thing. Brianna has never heard a voice quite like Freddie’s- it was almost as if she didn’t hear her singing with her ears, but with her heart. It touched her very being, something so deep and primal inside her that her eyes immediately filled with tears as those melodies rang out, the wind carrying a silent echo that sounded like a choir of angels. Freddie, and her entire species were full of delightful surprises. It broke Brianna’s heart to think someone would abuse them, and use them for their own gain.

‘’Like sirens?” Tamara questioned. She swore when she tripped over a rock. ‘’They enchant you with their singing?”

‘’Sirens are not real. And merfolk don’t enchant you. Their singing is very special and touching, but they can’t make you drown and all that. Sirens are just a romanticized tale of drunken sailors falling into the sea at their own fault.”

‘’You know, ever since you met Freddie, it feels like I’m constantly tripping on something.” Regina chuckled. ‘’Mermaids, magic, singing to the sea…but you know what, it’s actually quite romantic.”

‘’It would be even more so, if I managed to rescue Freddie.” Brianna sighed deeply. With every single second passing, Sheffield got closer to his plan to make Freddie his cash-cow. They had to stop him before he had the chance, before he could reveal the merfolk’s secrets, and unleash chaos on the world.

Joan squeezed her arm with an encouraging smile. ‘’We’re gonna help you, with whatever you need, Brianna. I promise. Freddie will be alright.”

Brianna nodded, trying to force a smile onto her face. They reached the edge, pushing past the tall plants and washed up debris. There were shadows under the surface of the shallow water, easily mistaken for a larger fish or a dolphin. Brianna hoped Freddie was right, and her friends were really hanging out around here, collecting little trinkets.

‘’Okay, we just… we’re just gonna sing now?” Tamara scratched the back of her head awkwardly. ‘’What kind of stuff do the mermaids like?”

‘’Honestly, I…I have no idea. I don’t know, let’s just sing something, alright?” Brianna was getting impatient. They shouldn’t be hung up about things like this, they had to warn Freddie’s friends, and then they had to come up with a plan to save Freddie.

‘’Happy Birthday?” Joan tried, biting her lip to hold back a laugh. Brianna rolled her eyes, but ended up nodding. Singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the fucking ocean. Thank God no one else was around to see this. Her life really did take a crazy turn after meeting Freddie.

For a few seconds, nothing happened, and Brianna almost questioned if Freddie only played a prank on them. But as embarrassing, weird and off-key as it was, it somehow really worked. The shadows stopped swirling under the water, stilling at the sound of their voices- then the top of a head appeared, cautiously peeking out. Brianna’s heart gave a happy jolt when Etta rose above the surface, staring at them with wide eyes.

‘’It’s Freddie’s human!” She announced, causing Petra and Phoebe to pop up too. They seemed relieved, but the worry was still obvious in their eyes.

‘’What happened to Freddie?” Phoebe asked, eyes drifting from one human to the other desperately. ‘’She hasn’t come home.”

‘’I know.” Brianna sighed, crouching down to be more at eye-level with them. She raked a nervous hand through her curls. ‘’I’m so sorry, Freddie was captured.”

The three mermaids gasped in unison. Utter horror was written all over their features.

‘’Where is she held? We have to save her! Why are you standing around here and singing to us, when you should be helping her!?” Petra demanded, chest rising and falling quickly with panic. Phoebe placed a placating hand on her arm, willing to hear the humans out.

‘’Freddie made me promise I would come and warn you to stay safe.” Brianna explained. ‘’The man who caught Freddie…he’s dangerous, and now he has found out that you exist. He might want to catch more merfolk. If he sends out his people to search the sea, you could be caught too. Freddie wants you to be safe.”

‘’We’re gonna make sure Freddie gets out of there.” Tamara promised. ‘’You just need lay low and hide somewhere, until we can get Freddie out.”

There was no guarantee Sheffield wouldn’t try and get her back, Brianna knew that. But they had to at least try- maybe they could do away with Sheffield for good, so he wouldn’t get another chance at fishing mermaids. Then, Freddie could safely return to the sea, and the larger public wouldn’t find out about her existence. It was all wishful thinking amongst the desperation, but it was better than just moping around and letting the worst happen.

‘’We’re gonna help, too.” Etta said. It wasn’t a question: she sounded absolutely determined. Phoebe and Petra nodded along, arms crossed defiantly over their chests. Brianna sighed, rubbing at her temples. They were going to put themselves in danger. Freddie asked them to hide, not to intervene.

‘’Look, I know how much you love Freddie, and I understand that you want to help, but you could get caught too, and we will end up with four captured mermaids instead of just one. We can handle it, okay? You can’t walk on dry land, and Freddie is held there. We have to solve this, just us, humans.”

‘’Freddie is kept on land!?” Petra shrieked. ‘’She can’t breathe on land for too long!”

‘’She was put in water.” Joan explained calmly. ‘’She will survive, but the man who keeps her captive, wants to show her off to the rest of the humans. This is what we have to stop.”

‘’The most you can do to help, is to listen to Freddie, and keep yourselves safe.” Regina added softly. ‘’Just warn the rest of your group that you might be in danger, and hide away.”

‘’I promise you, we will get Freddie home safe.” Brianna assured them, crossing her heart with a small smile. ‘’I love her. You know I would do anything for her.”

The mermaids remained silent for a while, quietly contemplating it. Just when Brianna thought the message went through, three more heads popped up behind them. The chaos that broke out after that was an image Brianna would never forget. An older-looking woman clutched at her chest in absolute panic, and a man started yelling at Freddie’s friends. A young boy just quietly observed, looking almost amused with the situation. Brianna only had to take one look at him to see the resemblance. This had to be Freddie’s family, the same people that were so wary of humans and forbade their daughter of ever coming into contact with one.

‘’You knew about it!” The man, presumably Freddie’s father, yelled, his eyes burning with rage. ‘’You knew Freddie was swayed over to the human side, and you have been feeding her delusions all along!”

‘’Bomi, we can explain…” Etta tried, but the woman cut her off.

‘’Why are you talking with these humans? They are dangerous!”

‘’Mother,” the boy said softly, gently touching her arm, ‘’let them speak.”

The woman spluttered, and Phoebe took the opportunity to speak up.

‘’Jer, I know it sounds crazy, but these humans are not dangerous. They know where Freddie’s held, and they want to help her.”

Jer’s eyes turned to Brianna, narrowing into little slits. Brianna, despite being much bigger than her, felt herself shrinking under her angry gaze.

‘’Where is my daughter!?” Jer demanded, hysterical. ‘’Where did you take her!?”

‘’We didn’t.” Brianna said calmly. She tried a small smile, and Jer snarled. Brianna swallowed thickly. ‘’Freddie had been taken by a bad man. He is a human with terrible intentions, and we have to get her out of there before something awful happens to her.”

‘’You all have bad intentions. You’re humans.” Bomi spat, voice full of disdain. He looked over Brianna and her friends, shaking his head. ‘’You took our daughter away from us!”

‘’She literally fucking said that we didn’t…” Joan quickly covered Regina’s mouth before she made the situation worse for them. Brianna sent her a grateful look. This was chaotic enough as it was.

‘’Freddie rescued me.” Brianna started. Bomi glared at her, but this time, he didn’t interrupt. ‘’There was a huge storm, and our ship sank. Freddie pulled me out of the wreck and took me to the shore. She healed me with her magic.”

Jer’s eyes widened, and the boy smiled. Freddie couldn’t invoke her magic before she met Brianna, and Brianna always held that information like a treasure- she was the reason Freddie was capable of doing things she couldn’t do before.

‘’I realized I could talk to her in my head,” Brianna continued, sighing softly. ‘’That’s how I came back to see her.”

‘’That’s impossible,” Bomi grumbled, ‘’only merfolk can soul-bond.”

‘’It’s true.” Brianna said, not raising her voice. She was impatient and exhausted, and she didn’t want to argue with brick-headed merfolk when she could be helping Freddie already, but she had to earn their trust. They were Freddie’s family, after all.

‘’Freddie and I are soul-bonded. We fell in love, and I know what merfolk think of humans. I know you hate us, and that you are scared of us. But please, believe me when I say, that I care deeply about Freddie, and I want to get her out of that place. There are truly terrible humans out there, and we have to stop them. But we can only do it, if you trust and listen to me. You have to be very careful from now, because that man is dangerous. He wants to expose Freddie, and that means everyone will find out merfolk are real, and they will want to hunt you down. I really only care about your safety. I don’t wanna hurt any of you, especially not Freddie, because she’s the meaning of my entire life.”

She let out a shaky breath, biting down on her lip. Jer and Bomi stared at her, eyes swirling with a plethora of confusing emotions.

‘’They speak the truth.” Petra said softly. ‘’They are good humans. They are going to help Freddie.”

‘’I believe you.” The boy said. He sent Brianna a small smile. ‘’I’m Kareem, Freddie’s brother.”

‘’I figured. I’m Brianna.” She replied softly. At least Kareem trusted her, if Freddie’s parents didn’t.

Jer eventually sighed. She didn’t seem too convinced, but at least she stopped actively resisting. ‘’Whatever you are, I just want my daughter back and safe.”

‘’You don’t have to worry.” Brianna promised. ‘’Freddie will be back soon.”

‘’If she gets hurt because of you, I will end you.” Bomi threatened. Brianna had no doubt he could and would, so she just nodded.

‘’We need to warn the others.” Kareem said. ‘’So everyone will be safe.”

‘’And we will help, I don’t care what you say.” Etta huffed, shaking her head when the humans protested. ‘’No, we will. No arguments.”

Brianna pinched the bridge of her nose. She felt a headache coming on. This day was quite a mess: she just met Freddie’s parents, who were just as hostile as she expected, and now she couldn’t put Freddie’s friends off of endangering themselves. Great.

‘’I mean, maybe they could,” Regina spoke, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. ‘’The amusement park is on a half-island. Some parts of it are submerged in water, and they have a few wires running directly under the sea. There’s the tunnel, too. They wouldn’t have to expose themselves, but they could cut the wires and cause a power outage. They could help get Freddie back to the ocean through the tunnels.”

Brianna’s face lit up. How did she not think about this before? They could work together, on the land and underwater. If they launched the attack from both sides, they could work more effectively. 

‘’Right. We need to get inside and locate Freddie, while someone distracts the guards.”

‘’We can cause a fire alarm.” Tamara added. ‘’That combined with a total outage will freak people out. There will be so much chaos that Sheffield wouldn’t get enough time to put Freddie on display.”

‘’We’re gonna sabotage their entire operation. We’re gonna punch so many holes into their system, that they won’t have time to fix it, and we can free Freddie faster.” Joan said, sending Regina a proud grin.

The mermaids and Kareem grinned and nodded. Jer and Bomi still looked suspicious, but Brianna felt more victorious than ever before. There was a chance this wouldn’t work, and they would fail; but they were making the first steps towards helping Freddie, humans and merfolk working together to make it so.

Brianna closed her eyes and thought of Freddie, hoping to pass some hope through their bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please share your thoughts with me!


	13. Sit Still, Look Pretty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddie is getting prepared for the big show; new plans are formulated, and the storms outside keep raging on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the long hiatus- life was quite chaotic, with exams and holidays and other stuff, but I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully, my updates will be a bit more regular again! Tw: there's a few mentions of abuse here, so be careful!

Freddie was complimented on her beauty all the time. She stood out, even amongst the mermaids for her looks, with her honey-gold skin and deep, soulful eyes, long, silky black hair and full lips; the only thing she sometimes felt self-conscious of were her teeth. She wished those were not so prominent, but other than that, the entire community had to agree that Freddie’s beauty was one of a kind. Brianna had told her constantly, just how gorgeous she was, her eyes lighting up with genuine awe whenever she looked at Freddie; she made her feel like the most heavenly creature, basking in the velvety shower of adoration.

Now, the beauty she used to be so proud of, what made her so unique, felt like more of a curse than a blessing at last, a heavy burden weighing down on her shoulders as curious eyes skimmed over her body, taking in every detail with a sick fascination, nothing like the gentle looks of her soulmate.

‘’Very interesting, indeed,” the old man murmured. He cupped Freddie’s jaw and tilted her face upwards, moving her head this way and that to inspect her from every angle. Freddie had considered lashing out and biting into his hand, but she realized it wouldn’t exactly improve her chances of getting out of here. She stayed completely still instead, making sure to look up at the men around her with as much disdain as possible.

‘’The texture of her outer layer appears to be exactly like our skin. Smooth.” Calloused fingers glided over her skin, and Freddie bit back the urge to gag.

‘’We really used to think old Perkins has lost his mind.” Sheffield grinned, leaning against the line of sharp white closets leisurely. ‘’He was a drunk, it would have only made sense for him to be off his shits when he came up with that mermaid story. Yet, here we are. How much do you think I’m gonna get for her?”

‘’People will definitely be all over this thing.” The doctor said, chuckling when Freddie let out a soft growl. ‘’Easy, you. You know what, Norman, I think this is a scientific discovery unmatched. Not just the biggest entertainment of your show, but your golden card to be the hero who turned fairytales real.”

‘’Perkins had discovered them, though.”

‘’And who can prove it? They didn’t even have pictures. No one of that bunch is alive or has their ability to form coherent sentences. You can say you were the first, still. Get all the credits, and all the profits. You have the beautiful, living proof right in your hands.”

Freddie desperately tried to block them out. She didn’t want to hear that horrifying story about that poor, captured mermaid, and she had no intention of sitting back and listening to these humans talking about her as if she was an object.

She stared down at her arm, where a long red line ran across the skin. She shivered at the memory. Sheffield expected her to be obedient, twisting and turning in every which way he desired- training her for the big show tomorrow, as he said with a wolfish grin-, and when Freddie didn’t oblige, he slapped her with something that stung like the attack of a stingray, and left angry marks on her body. The more Freddie resisted, the more he hit her, until she had no strength left to disobey his orders. She was exhausted, aching and terrified. She had only spent a few days here, probably, but it felt like a lifetime. Brianna promised her she would come, that she and her friends were working on a plan to get her out, but the rescue mission couldn’t come quickly enough. Sheffield was even worse than what Freddie imagined; he seemed to have no empathy, no actual feelings, just greed for money and fame and power. He didn’t care about anyone else but himself, and treated people and animals terribly alike. Freddie was never the violent type, but she wished the worst for him, especially after she saw how he treated that poor dolphin he stole from Brianna’s workplace. The thought of him doing something like that to Delilah made her stomach churn.

‘’Everything seems nice and ready.” The doctor said. He pinched Freddie’s cheek almost playfully, causing the mermaid to flinch back. ‘’She seems healthy, as far as I can tell. Her system works almost exactly the same way ours do. Fascinating, really.”

‘’I know.” Sheffield said. He sent Freddie an almost proud look, as if she was his little pet, performing adorable tricks. But that was exactly what was expected of her, very soon, and the mere idea was enough for Freddie to feel like suffocating, even though they had lowered her into a kiddy pool during the doctor’s exams. She didn’t want to be put on display like that, to be gawked at. She didn’t want to be treated so differently- she might have had a tail instead of a pair of legs, and could breathe underwater, but inside, she was the same as humans: she loved, hated, laughed and cried just like them. Why did they have to act like she was such an incomprehensible, alien creature? They kept trying to understand how her body worked, but didn’t give a damn about how she felt.

She fiddled with the straps of her bikini top, teeth sinking into her lower lip. She wanted to rip the strange garment off. It was restricting, digging into her skin and pushing her chest upwards uncomfortably. She will never understand why humans insisted on covering their bodies, even if it meant discomfort for them.

‘’You might need a bit of make-up.” Sheffield said. He was so close to Freddie now, she could feel his breath on her face. She scrunched her nose up in disgust, but he just laughed.

‘’I mean, don’t get me wrong, you are quite a lovely sight, but this is our world, which means you follow our rules. And since this is going to be the biggest show of my life, you have to be absolutely perfect. Too bad we won’t have time to fix your teeth until tomorrow… just keep your lips closed, okay?”

‘’Why are you so hateful?” Freddie hissed, twisting her body against the wall of the small pool, away from Sheffield. ‘’How can you live like this, so uncaring of the world? What happened to you that made you so terrible?”

Sheffield chuckled, clearly amused. ‘’I think I liked you better when you acted all dumb and didn’t speak. Stop waxing poetic, Little Mermaid. No one wants to hear your naïve little laments, you just need to be obedient, and pretty. Okay? Don’t make me catch you speaking tomorrow, or there will be consequences.”

‘’Fate will give you this back, just you wait.” Freddie huffed. As if to back up her statement, the sky outside rumbled. More and more storms wrecked the world in the past few days. Freddie heard the humans around her constantly complaining about the strange weather, telling each other about how they saw hurricanes and floods in the news, all over the world. The Sea Goddess was getting angrier with each day, her fury set ablaze by the injustice of what Sheffield committed against her creatures. The air crackled, the sky ready to snap in half; Freddie could tell the Goddess was only hanging on by a thin thread- very soon, she would bring despair on the humans who wronged the world around them.

For the likes of Sheffield, it would have been a fitting end- but Freddie was terrified for her lover, for her friends, for the innocent people. Something had to be done- she had to earn the privilege of talking to the Goddess, to talk her out of destroying the human world.

But first, she had to get out of this place.

\--

The girl who was supposed to do her make-up for the show stared at her with huge eyes, but at least she wasn’t ogling her like Sheffield and the doctor; she seemed genuinely in awe, cradling Freddie’s face with trembling fingers, as if she was too scared to touch her.

‘’I-I’m thinking, uhm… maybe some nice purple shade on your eyelids? It goes so well for your skin tone.” She stuttered, cheeks flushed as she took in the face of the mermaid before her. ‘’Erm… do you know what eyeshadow is?”

‘’A shadow that… covers my eyes?” Freddie questioned, confused. This girl seemed nice enough, but she used so many strange words. She laughed softly, pulling something out of her pocket, a small, shiny box. She popped the lid open, revealing a multitude of colors.

‘’This is eyeshadow.” She said softly, pointing at the purple option. ‘’I’m gonna put this on your eyelids, and it’s gonna make your eyes look beautiful. I mean, uhm, they already are, just… I’m sorry, I’m bad at explaining. I’ve never talked to a… well…”

‘’Mermaid?” Freddie asked with a small smile. She splashed the water with her tail, and the girl’s eyes widened in awe. She seemed so young, barely older than a child, too innocent and sweet to work for Sheffield.

‘’I didn’t know you were real.” She said with a smile. ‘’Mermaids were my favorite when I was a kid. I used to want to be a mermaid. You are just… it’s incredible. It’s like a dream come true, to know that you exist. What is your name? Mr. Sheffield told me he calls you Baby, but I’m not sure if that’s okay with you.”

‘’It’s not.” Freddie replied honestly. Maybe she did the wrong thing, trusting this young girl, but she had to cherish the only humane interaction she had at this place. ‘’My name is actually Freddie.”

‘’I’m Sarah.” The girl replied, so excited to introduce herself to a mermaid. Yes, way too sweet and innocent.

‘’Why are you working for Sheffield?” Freddie asked. ‘’He’s a bad man.”

Sarah bit her lip, staring down at the opened case of eyeshadow in her hands. ‘’I’m only here for the summer, student job. I was hoping to be around animals, but I mostly just run random errands.”

‘’Do you know how he treats animals?” Freddie asked. Sarah shook her head.

‘’I’m not really allowed to be there for the training sessions or anything…”

‘’He’s cruel. He beats them and shouts at them, he barely feeds them. He hit me too.” She pointed at the red marks on her arms, causing Sarah to gasp.

‘’But… that is horrible!”

‘’It is.” An idea suddenly sprung into Freddie’s mind. The last time she talked to Brianna, they didn’t have an exact plan. They probably needed all the help they could get. And Sarah seemed genuinely shocked and horrified by Sheffield’s wrongdoings, she wasn’t like him. She could be helpful.

‘’Sarah,” Freddie started, lowering her voice just in case, ‘’I need to get out of here. This place is not where I belong, I have to go back to the sea. I can’t be displayed in the show tomorrow.”

‘’But Mr. Sheffield said…”

Freddie laid a gentle hand on her arm. ‘’Look, I know what he’s like. I understand that you’re scared of him, but you wouldn’t be alone. My soulmate and her friends will try to get me out of here before the show, and you could help them.”

‘’Your...soulmate…what?” Sarah gasped with wide eyes. Freddie shook her head; they didn’t have time to talk about this. They had to act quickly.

‘’I understand, if it’s too risky for you. I don’t want to get you in trouble. But we need to work together, if we want to make sure our plan will be safe.”

Sarah chewed on her lip for a second, mulling it over in her head. Eventually, she nodded, a small, unsure thing.

‘’Okay. I’ll try to help. What will I have to do? Just… please don’t make me steal anything, or hit someone, I couldn’t…”

‘’I’ll talk to my soulmate, and we will figure it out.” Freddie promised with a smile. ‘’Thank you, Sarah, truly. You are one of the good humans.”

‘’Wait, how are you going to talk…?”

Freddie didn’t reply, just closed her eyes and focused.

\--

_‘’Brianna?”_

_‘’Freddie! My love, how are you? Are you hurt? We’re gonna be there as soon as possible, we just needed to take some precautions. But I promise, we will be there before the show starts.”_

_‘’Darling, there’s a young girl here. She could help us. Do we have a plan?”_

_‘’A plan of sorts, yes. A power outage and sneaking inside, dressed as electricians are part of it.”_

_‘’I don’t understand a word of what you just said, Dear, but I trust you.”_

_‘’This girl you mentioned… she could distract Sheffield and the security guards while I’ll try to find you. Is she trustworthy?”_

_‘’She seems really kind. She’s basically a child, and has no idea how cruel Sheffield is.”_

_‘’She could be our help from the inside. Freddie, this is actually wonderful. You are so smart, my love.”_

_‘’What is my part of the plan?”_

_‘’You just need to act like nothing is happening. Don’t make things hard for yourself.”_

_‘’I’m tempted to bite someone.”_

_‘’I would enjoy watching that, but please, lay low, alright? Help is on the way. We’re coming for you.”_

_‘’I love you so much, Brianna.”_

_‘’I love you. Stay strong.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we just have to see if their plan works...


	14. Mission Impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brianna and her friends take action to try and save Freddie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent so much time figuring out how this should work, and honestly I'm not sure I did a good job lmao, but I hope the chapter will still be to your liking!

Brianna kept bouncing her legs all the way, so much, that it made the car shook. Her hands were growing uncomfortably clammy, no matter how many times she wiped them on her jeans. She knew she had to try and calm down by the time they get to the amusement park, but it didn’t prove to be an easy task.

She hasn’t slept for a second the whole night. All her thoughts revolved around Freddie, and their rescue mission. What if something went wrong? What if they don’t get there in time? What if- and that was the worst possible option- Freddie gets hurt? She would never forgive herself. She loved Freddie, like she hadn’t loved anyone else: she was her soulmate, her other half. The love of her life. Brianna didn’t want to imagine a life where Freddie wasn’t there with her. She wanted her back in her arms, right now.

A hand squeezed her leg gently. When she looked up, her eyes met Joan’s. Her friend gave her a reassuring smile. ‘’It’s all gonna be okay. Freddie will be alright. Don’t panic, okay?”

‘’I’m trying.” Brianna sighed. She peered outside the window. They passed a pole with an advertisement about Norman Sheffield’s big show today, and it made Brianna’s stomach churn. That man should have been shut down, a long time ago. Brianna wished they could end their entire operation right away- but for now, they had to focus on Freddie. If she was safe and sound, they could mull the consequences over.

The sky was dark grey, heavy rain clouds covering the horizon. It was cold, way too much for a day at the end of summer. Other people complained about having to wear jackets already, but Brianna knew this wasn’t just a simple cold front. She knew what elemental force was behind all this, ready to strike any second. They would have to do something about that, too. But first, they needed to get Freddie back.

‘’Let’s go over the plan again.” Brianna said, tearing her eyes away from the road. ‘’Everyone knows their role, right?”

‘’Joan and I will be asking for Sheffield.” Tamara said, drumming her fingers against the wheel. She tried to pretend to be calm, but it was obvious how nervous she was, too. ‘’Joan will talk some electricity bogus that she learned from her father, while I look smart and nod in the background.”

‘’I’ll cause a fire alarm, right after you located Freddie.” Regina added. ‘’So, if an alarm goes off down at the aquariums, they won’t know if it’s because of the fire or because of someone trying to steal, let’s say, a mermaid.”

‘’I’ll find and get Freddie out.” Brianna said. A new sense of determination hit her. ‘’That Sarah girl will distract the guards. The second they leave the aquariums, I will sneak in.”

It was a risky operation, and it all depended on the perfect timing. If someone was late by just one second, their entire plan would fall apart. They had to be very quick and efficient- but they were all determined to go through with this, and to finally take Sheffield down.

Brianna stared at her phone in anticipation. They put small cameras on Phoebe, Petra and Etta, to follow their actions underwater, as well as a sound device that allowed them to communicate. It was the type they used to track the manatees with, and Brianna felt incredibly grateful for that particular invention.

The video showed the mermaids swimming closer to the wires. Brianna’s heart started to race.

‘’Alright, ladies,” she said into the speaker, ‘’let’s get those wires. Do you have something to cut them with?”

‘’Sure we do.” Etta announced. Brianna’s jaw dropped when a giant white shark swam into the picture, the large, strong body covering the wires from sight. Somehow, Brianna had a feeling it was the same shark she encountered when Freddie took her diving, and as dire as the situation was, she couldn’t help a smile.

The terrifying jaw cut through the wires like knife through butter. They ended up cutting not just the electricity, but the internet cable, too. But the more chaos, the merrier.

‘’Wonderful job.” Brianna praised them with a smile. ‘’We’re almost there. Now, you just have to wait for Freddie. If she shows up at the tunnel, escort her to safety. And if we don’t show up for a very long time, you need to get away from there, understood?”

‘’Yes.” The three mermaids sang in unison. Brianna leaned back against the seat with a relieved sigh. One part of the plan was checked off. Now, they just had to get inside.

Brianna pushed some hopeful thoughts towards Freddie through their bond, making sure to keep her nerves at bay when they arrived at the place of Sheffield’s operation.

\--

As they hoped, losing electricity and internet connection on the very same day Sheffield was about to blow his biggest rocket ever, caused one hell of a chaos. They barely spared a glance at the ‘’electricians”, instead, they practically dragged them inside after they said they belonged to the park’s repairer team. They managed to find identical jackets to the team members, spending an afternoon sewing the logo into them. At least no one could tell them they were doing a lousy job at fitting in.

‘’We need to speak to Mr. Sheffield, please.” Tamara said, voice full of confidence. ‘’This appears to be a major shut-down, and repairing might take some time. We have some papers for him that he needs to sign. It’s standard procedure.”

‘’I see.” A gruff-looking man in a suit- probably some kind of manager- said, giving Tamara a skeptical look. ‘’They sent an all-female group?”

‘’Look, man, we don’t have time for this.” Joan said, getting up in his face. ‘’We are a bit short on staff right now. Do you want to see my degree, perhaps? Or would you like to get this all done with quickly, so by the time the guests arrive, everything will be under control again?”

This seemed to convince the man. He gestured for Tamara and Joan to follow him. Brianna and Regina took advantage of the mess of people running inside the building, and quickly disappeared.

‘’Go, and find Freddie.” Regina said with a small smile. ‘’Be quick.”

Brianna nodded. She gave Regina’s arm a small squeeze before she dashed off, keeping her eyes on the signs on the walls. No one seemed to question her appearance, luckily: people actually seemed relieved when they passed her, thinking she was here to fix the issue. Well, she was- just not the issue of the cut wires.

The main aquarium wasn’t hard to find- everywhere she looked, arrows and boards announced the proximity of the attraction. Brianna kept close to the wall, slowing her steps down just a little bit. It would have been suspicious of her to linger around the aquariums right now. The dim lights served her right; in her dark green jacket, she was almost invisible.

She heard two men- the guards- speaking at the entrance. She pressed herself against the wall, waiting. Where was that Sarah girl? Freddie made her promise that she would distract the guards as quickly as possible. If she got cold feet, then everything could fall apart…

A young girl, with her reddish hair in a ponytail, appeared at the entrance with a shy little smile. Brianna assumed it was Sarah. She slid just a little bit closer, to get bits of their conversation.

Sarah shyly told the guards there’s somebody down the hall who’s acting strangely, and might require restriction (that was Regina, waving around her cigarette to cause the fire alarm as soon as Brianna gives her the green light). ‘’Mr. Sheffield instructed me to get you, because everyone else is indisposed because of the power outage.” Sarah explained. She was wringing her hands behind her back, but other than that, she played her part well, Brianna had to give her that.

The guards murmured something, then one of them locked the door. Brianna went pale. Crap, they didn’t even think about this casualty. She could try and break down that door, but she wasn’t exactly a body-builder, and that was a ton of heavy metal right there- besides, there was no way the alarms wouldn’t already go off.

Luckily, Sarah was clearly a much smarter girl than what people gave her credit for. While she was still talking to the guards, steering them away from the door, she dropped the key onto the floor, the one she received from the keepers to get inside and do Freddie’s makeup and hair. Brianna grinned. This girl was wasting herself under Sheffield: she would have a much better place at the Institute.

As soon as the guards left with Sarah, Brianna sprung into action: she grabbed the keys and quickly opened the door. She could barely see anything inside, but she didn’t need to: she could sense Freddie close to her, and her legs took her forward quickly.

She practically flew over to the aquarium where Freddie was held. Happy tears sprung into her eyes as she laid her palms against the glass. Freddie pressed herself against the wall of the aquarium, her cheeks pink from happiness as she finally looked into the eyes of her soulmate.

‘’You’re here.” Freddie whispered, lower lip wobbling- but she was smiling nonetheless, heart filled with love and gratitude. She desperately wished she could kiss Brianna right now. Brianna nodded, unable to stop grinning.

‘’I promised I would come, didn’t I?” She replied. Freddie looked paler than usual, exhausted and afraid, but she was still beautiful, so perfect. She still belonged to Brianna, and the human wasn’t going to lose her again.

‘’Look, we need to be quick.” Brianna said. It hurt her not to revel more in the happiness of seeing Freddie again, but they couldn’t stall. They were literally just one step away from success. ‘’We need to get you back into the sea. There should be a …”

Her eyes fell on the lid of the watercourse. Sheffield was smart, and deliberately placed Freddie into an aquarium without a direct lead to the sewers- but there was one outside of the aquarium, the one they used to drain the dirty water down. It was a tight squeeze, but Freddie was small, and they didn’t have another chance.

The lock on the aquarium was a heavy handle that needed to be twisted to open up the lid. Brianna took a deep breath and grabbed onto the handle. It barely moved when she pushed down on it.

‘’You can do it.” Freddie encouraged her. Brianna felt bravery and determination filling her, the emotions that Freddie pushed across their bond. ‘’You are so strong, Brianna. Believe in yourself, and you can do it.”

Brianna squeezed her eyes shut. She let Freddie’s words echo in her head, pushing her forward. She gathered all her strength and twisted the lock with a pained yelp, sliding the lid open.

Freddie shot up like a rocket, jumping out of the hated tank that held her captive. It wasn’t a long distance to the sewer lid, and she could have slid on the floor- but Brianna, exhausted as she might be, scooped her up into her arms with her remaining willpower.

‘’You thought I was going to let my soulmate crawl?” Brianna joked tiredly. The alarm, that was powered by the backup generator, went off upon sensing the tank being opened. She hoisted Freddie up, keeping her steady. She turned her face to the speaker.

‘’Okay, Reg, fire alarm, please.”

Silence. Brianna frowned. Why wasn’t Regina replying? They didn’t have time for pranks.

‘’Tamara? Joan?” No one replied. An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. She called for the mermaids, but they didn’t reply either. Panic filled her chest.

‘’What happened to them?” Freddie fretted. Her eyes were wide with fear. The alarm kept blaring in the background. ‘’We have to find them!”

Brianna snapped out of her trance, and shook her head. She was worried sick about her friends, but she still had to smuggle Freddie out of here. She ignored Freddie’s protests and started running towards the lid- just a few meters, and at least Freddie would be safe…

It felt like electricity ran through her body, like a burst of lightning just hit her in the back. Her muscles tensed up from the sudden, intense pain, and she fell to her knees. Freddie cried out, clutching onto her, trying to pull her up- but Brianna’s entire body was paralyzed. Her muscles spasmed through the seizure that ragged her body, pinning her to the ground. She held onto Freddie with one, cramping hand, trying to keep her safe, but it was futile already. They were surrounded, security guards holding tasers and Sheffield grinning in triumph.

‘’Whoops, almost there.” He teased. He tore Brianna’s cap off her head, freeing the hidden curls. ‘’I should have known it was you and your stupid little gang. I have to give it to you, it was smart. How did you find out about my mermaid, May?”

‘’I’m not yours.” Freddie hissed. She wrapped her arms protectively around Brianna, eyes glowing with anger. ‘’Don’t you dare hurt her!”

Sheffield chuckled, shaking his head. He seemed absolutely amused by the entire situation. ‘’God, you keep surprising me, Baby. Guess we can consider it the aperitif before the actual show.”

He gestured towards the guards who grabbed Freddie, prying her off Brianna. She screamed and trashed, but they were much stronger, holding her down. When Brianna tried to get up, a heavy boot pushed down on her back, causing her to whimper in pain.

‘’You and your idiotic hero complex.” Sheffield tutted. ‘’You really thought you can just barge in here, and took Baby away from me? I told you, May. I have everything under control. You kept trying to throw me down, but never managed. What changed now, huh? You are all still in my pocket. You can’t win here.”

Brianna’s heart shattered when she saw the guards throwing Freddie back in the tank, locking her inside. Freddie plastered herself against the glass, worry edged onto her face as she helplessly stared at her soulmate. 

‘’The actual electricians showed up. They were very surprised to find out they apparently have women on their team. And while the outfits were really nice, it wasn’t that hard to recognize your friends. You really thought I was that stupid?”

He glanced at Freddie, his signature smirk widening. ‘’I sent the team to check the underwater wires. They told me they were cut- and they arrived just in time to see three creatures fleeing, that looked alarmingly liked you.”

‘’No…” Freddie whimpered. She slammed her palm against the glass, causing Sheffield to laugh.

‘’They went after them. Let’s see if a boat is faster than a bunch of mermaids, huh?” He glanced at his wristwatch, shaking his head. ‘’You really kept me up here. Electricity is back, and the guests started filing in. Guess we don’t have time to do your make-up now… especially since that girl is indisposed.”

‘’What did you do to her?” Brianna hissed, scrambling up. She was immediately held down by the guards. ‘’What did you do to my friends?”

‘’They are alive, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m not a psycho.” Sheffield chuckled. ‘’But I need to keep you away from my show. We’ll talk, after Baby showed her lovely tricks to the world.”

‘’Her name is Freddie!” Brianna snapped. ‘’And I’m not going to let you hurt her!”

‘’Sure.” Sheffield rolled his eyes. He nodded at one of the guards, who shocked Brianna again. Freddie screamed in the back, helplessly hitting the glass.

‘’Take her to the storage, and tie her up with the rest of them.” Sheffield instructed. He shook his head at Freddie, equal amounts amused and disappointed. ‘’Oh, you. You really thought your lady knight in shining armor would save you? I’m sorry. Fairytales ended with your existence. Now, behave, and gather me some money.”

Freddie yelled something back, but Brianna couldn’t hear it as she was dragged out. It felt like she had been dragged along endlessly, until she was thrown into a dark, cramped room. Tamara, Joan, Regina and Sarah were all there, handcuffed to the metal railings, mouths plastered shut. Their eyes widened in panic when they saw Brianna getting the same treatment next to them.

Brianna’s heart hammered, ready to burst out of her chest. She wasn’t worried about herself- Sheffield wouldn’t kill them. She was worried about Freddie, and the rest of the merfolk. What’s going to happen to them, if the world will see Freddie? How much chaos will be unleashed on the world, if the greed and the cruelty wins?

Their plan failed- they were all in huge trouble, especially Freddie. For someone who always had a plan, right now, Brianna felt completely helpless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, obviously I wasn't gonna make it this easy...


	15. Doomsday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world has earned its punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apocalyptic chapter? Apocalytpic chapter.

The cheers of the crowd were only a low murmur, but it still made Freddie’s skin prickle with nerves. She had been placed into a different tank, one that had a direct lead-up to the main entertainment area- a little door that led to her doom. The world above her head was one that Freddie wanted no part of: she didn’t want to be stared at, didn’t want to be the sick fascination of greedy humans who only saw the money in her, and nothing else.

Strangely enough, it wasn’t even herself that she was worried about the most. Her heart was heavy as lead when she thought about Brianna and her friends. They were so close to getting out of here, to do away with Sheffield, and now her soulmate was locked up somewhere, unable to call for help. She mentally assured Freddie that everything was going to be okay, that she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to Freddie- how she would manage that, with her hands tied and her mouth covered, Freddie didn’t know. No matter how she churned her brain, she saw no sight of getting out of this mess of a situation.  
She was also worried about her mermaid friends- what if Sheffield’s men caught them? They would be subjected to the same fate as Freddie was, put out on display for humans to gawk at. What if they followed them, and found even more merfolk? If they found her family? 

If she hasn’t sulked away on that fateful day, this wouldn’t have happened. She wouldn’t have to worry for the lives of her friends. Now, they were all in trouble, because of her. She had to fix this, somehow. She had to get out of here, or die trying, save her soulmate and prevent more chaos from happening.

She stared up at the closed lid that separated her from the show pool, jaw set and eyes set ablaze with determination. She heard the splashes, as some poor animal put on a show outside to save their life. She heard the speakers, the awed sounds of the guests. Freddie closed her eyes, sending hope through her bond to Brianna.

_I will get us all out of here._

She didn’t wait for a reply. Shutting her mind of, she only concentrated at the task at hand. Sheffield specifically forbade her from speaking, to make sure she didn’t appear too human and drew sympathy- she had to turn the tables on him, and do just that. Maybe if the people heard her speaking like a human, if they heard her sing, they would understand what was at risk here. They might wake up from their haze and take Freddie’s side, turning against Sheffield. They would realize they have supported cruelty and greed all along, and would feel ashamed.

It was risky, and there was no guarantee it would work- but Freddie had to try. She knew exactly, that many people had good in their hearts. It was enough just to find one, who was willing to hear her out.

The keepers would have those terrible sticks that really hurt, and Freddie already shivered at the idea. But she needed to take that risk. For Brianna, for her friends, for herself.

The lid slowly slid open, causing Freddie’s heart to pound. Weak sunlight poured into the tank; it was cold and stormy outside, but Sheffield wouldn’t call the big show off. Hell, not even a nearly successful robbery could stop him from using Freddie. She heard his voice from afar, vibrating with excitement.

‘’Ladies and gentlemen,” he started. Freddie closed her eyes, hands balling up into fists. ‘’I have promised you a huge surprise today. I’m so thrilled to see that there’s so many of you here, despite the weather and the late start- it’s time to gift you for your patience with something that would take your breath away. Something no one has seen at this amusement park before- something that no one in this world has seen. I’ve brought you mystery, mythology, a fairytale. It will be quite a shocking experience, so I’m asking you, ladies and gentlemen, to remain calm and in your seats, no matter what happens. I need you to watch closely, and revel in the beauty that you are about to see.”

The platform Freddie was sitting on started rising, towards the lid. Freddie’s heart pressed against her chest painfully. She swallowed thickly, raising her chin high. She let the last words of Brianna fill her mind and heart- that it was going to be okay-, and she faced the world as the underwater platform fully emerged, lifting her above the pool for everyone to see.

The bleachers were filled with approximately five-hundred people, and all of them gasped in unison. Shock and disbelief radiated from them as they stared at the creature in front of them. Some of the children squealed, their mothers clamping their hands over their mouths. There was only a faint murmur of cursing- the quiet tension could be cut with a knife. For them, it was a childhood dream coming alive, an urban legend proven to be true. They were surprised, astonished, amazed- all of them in a trance.

It was time for Freddie to strike.

‘’Humans,” she started, causing more gasping and hushed whispers, ‘’don’t be afraid of me. I’m a prisoner here, as the rest of the animals you saw. I’m not here willingly.”

Sheffield grabbed the back of her neck, his fingers digging into the skin painfully. The movement was hidden successfully under her long, thick hair, no one could see the pain inflicted upon her.

‘’Shut your mouth.” He grumbled. ‘’What did I tell you about not speaking, you dumb monster?”

He looked up at the crowd with an apologetic smile. ‘’I’m terribly sorry about this behavior. She’s new here, and we are still working on teaching her how to properly communicate.”

‘’Is she real?” Someone shouted from the bleachers. ‘’Or is she an actor?”

‘’She’s real, one-hundred percent.” Sheffield announced proudly. ‘’We have a mermaid in the flesh. These beautiful, unique creatures exist. There might be more of them out there, ladies and gentlemen! 

Isn’t she just wonderful?”

Appreciative murmurs came from the crowd. Freddie could still see shocked faces- she needed to spring into action until she still had the chance.

‘’We are treated horribly here!” Freddie yelled, trying to twist away from Sheffield’s grip. ‘’We are not your enemies, we are not monsters, we are just like you and we need…”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence, because Sheffield pressed the taser into her back, shocking her with a small amount of electricity. Freddie was temporarily paralyzed, her jaw cramping up from the seizure. Pain flared across her muscles, and her heart clenched. She didn’t get to say her piece, she couldn’t sing and make the people stand by her- she was losing her chance of getting out of here. Sheffield spoke to the people, but Freddie could barely hear him. There had to be another way out…

Before she could come up with something, an ear-splitting rumble came from the sky, and suddenly it wasn’t just grey anymore- in the matter of seconds, the sky turned pitch black, as if it was the middle of the night. But there were no stars- only the ever-consuming darkness that caused the people to gasp and mutter in panic.

Sheffield looked up at the sky in disbelief. The air crackled with electricity, causing the fine hairs on Freddie’s arm to stand on end. A lightning split the sky, vibrating with electric tension. The phenomenon struck into the lamppost, causing the lightbulbs to explode with a horrifying sound. The electricity was cut off, abruptly. People already started to gather their things, panic settling over them.

‘’Ladies and gentlemen, please try and remain calm…” Sheffield tried, but his words lost their effect as heavy rain started falling down. The drops flooded down in thick ropes, it was as if the clouds turned into waterfalls. That finally caused the biggest eruption of panic so far: people started running, screaming and cursing and trying to protect themselves from the heavy rain, that hit them painfully. Freddie soon realized it wasn’t even water that was falling anymore, but lumps of ice. She knew what happened, why the world twisted inside out, right away.

The wrath of the Sea Goddess had arrived with full force, and it was even more horrible than Freddie imagined: chaos unleashed on the world in the matter of milliseconds, turning everything upside down. People were trampling over each other in their haste to get to the exit. Now Sheffield and the keepers were running too, yelling and cursing as the cold ice poured onto them.

The wind picked up, blowing litter and leaves everywhere. Freddie squeezed her eyes shut, quickly jumping off the platform. She needed to get back inside to find Brianna and her friends somehow. She had no idea where they were kept, or how she could get there without the safety of water, but she had to try. Brianna’s plan was to cause chaos to save Freddie: what they failed to do, the Goddess managed quite efficiently.

It turned out Freddie didn’t have to worry about water, after all. As the wind howled and screamed around her, picking up small objects and trashing them against the windows, Freddie glanced at the sea. The blood ran cold in her veins as she saw waves bigger than she has ever seen before, rising so high they reached the sky. She faintly heard more screaming, alarms blaring- then the sea has flooded the island, swallowing it up like an angry giant.

Freddie was swept in a wave, drifting away by the current until she had no idea where she was anymore. Her ears were ringing, and her head was dizzy. She saw a few people, trying to swim, and Freddie made a grab at the children, lifting them out of the water and trying to place them on the platforms that weren’t under water yet. They didn’t deserve this fate- many people had hatred in their hearts, but not all of them. The Sea Goddess was so fed up with the cruelty in the world, that she started punishing everyone, and this was just doing more harm than good. She had to be stopped, before she completely destroyed the world.

Freddie was hit by another wave, and suddenly she found herself back in her tank, the current pulling her down. The aquariums filled more and more with water, the glass creaking under the pressure. The trapped sea animals were throwing themselves against the walls of their cages, irritated and scared. Freddie felt the same. What’s going to happen to her love, to her friends? They were locked up somewhere, with no way out. The water was slowly filling up the building, if Freddie didn’t find them in time, they would drown…

The glass couldn’t hold up against the enormous pressure anymore, and it shattered into pieces. The animals were freed from their aquariums: Freddie floated together with sharks, orcas, dolphins and seals, all of them trashing in panic. Freddie wished she could help them all, just like how she tried to help the people. There would be a high body count in the world today if they won’t manage to stop the Goddess in time.

She took advantage of the flood: gathering all her strength, she pushed through the giant waves, swimming as fast as she could. More glass broke in the background. Freddie was certain the entire building would collapse very soon- she needed to find Brianna and the rest of the group before that happened. Sheffield was talking about some kind of storage, a tiny room that they were held. Freddie focused hard until her mind hurt, trying to reach out to Brianna. When she didn’t get a reply, her heart shattered, but she quickly pulled herself together. She couldn’t let panic consume her. She needed to find them before it was too late.

The voice was weak inside her head, but it still made Freddie’s heart flutter with hope.

_Freddie, where are you? Are you alright?_

Brianna was worried about Freddie, and not herself, even when she was in much bigger trouble. Freddie couldn’t help but smile through the tears and the fear.

_I’m coming for you now. Stay strong._

Fueled by love and hope upon finding out that Brianna was alive, Freddie swam faster, pushing through the chaos raging on around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But how will Freddie save Brianna and her friends, that's the question.


	16. Staying Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to save Brianna, her friends and the world, Freddie needs to unlock something primal inside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when this fic turned into a superhero movie, but I kinda dig it.

Brianna was in the middle of rubbing her wrists bloody by trying to desperately wriggle out of her handcuffs when the world literally started to end around her.

From the storage room, she couldn’t hear Sheffield’s voice announcing his surprise to the guests, nor Freddie’s plea. She had no idea what happened to her soulmate, because Freddie wasn’t replying to her after a while, and it caused Brianna to panic. She kept kicking and trashing against the metal pipes that held her and her friends captive, earning exasperated glances from the other girls. She was determined to get out of here and get to Freddie, no matter the cost.

But fate has decided otherwise, sending storms and floods onto the world that erupted into chaos and panic. The sounds of people screaming, glass breaking and the wind howling was the worst thing Brianna has ever heard in her life. They were trapped inside, and God, where was Freddie!? She told Brianna she was coming for them, but so far, there was no sign of her anywhere.

The walls were creaking and crumbling- the entire building was going to collapse on them. Regina and Joan sent each other worried glances, and something told Brianna they were much more scared for their son at home than for themselves. Sarah was crying silently, and Tamara stared blankly forward, probably counting the minutes until their inevitable death. But Brianna refused to give up. She would hold on until her very last breath, for Freddie.

As the pressure on the walls increased, the metal railings started to fold, weakened by the weight of the water raging behind the walls. Brianna gathered all her strength; she thought about Freddie, her love, her bravery and determination, and she pushed up against the railing. Her friends caught on quickly, and they all started yanking on the railings, giving it all their power. After several seconds of struggling, the bars gave up and tore out of the wall. Brianna took a deep, relieved breath as she tore the tape off her mouth.

‘’What the Hell is going on out there?” Tamara asked. She handed everyone her hairpin that they could use to pick the cuffs open. ‘’Is this the apocalypse?”

‘’Pretty much.” Brianna replied. She helped the trembling Sarah onto her feet. ‘’It’s the wrath of the Sea Goddess. She’s punishing us.”

‘’So, what you’re saying is no matter we’re free now, we’re just gonna walk straight into the end of the world, anyway.” Regina sighed. She held Joan close, eyes cloudy. ‘’What are we gonna do now?”

‘’We need to get the Hell out of here, and find Freddie.” Brianna replied. She rushed to the door, only to find it stuck. She tried to pull on the handle, then pushing it with her shoulder, but nothing worked. Fallen debris barricaded the door from outside, leaving no space for it to even budge.

They pushed themselves against the door, all five of them, but it didn’t prove to be enough. Brianna swallowed the lump of renewed panic in her throat as she saw the water that previously was just trickling inside under the door and through the cracks in the wall, quickly pooling and rising in level at their feet.

‘’I don’t wanna die,” Sarah whispered, tears streaming down her face. She was just a child, who was caught up in their mess- Brianna felt terrible for putting her at risk. She squeezed her shoulders, trying for an encouraging smile.

‘’Were gonna get out of here, somehow.” She promised, albeit she didn’t know how that was possible. ‘’We’re gonna keep sieging that door, and Freddie will find us, eventually. You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna live, and once we are done here, we will get you out of Sheffield’s clutches.”

‘’But if the world is ending…”

‘’We won’t let that happen.” Joan said softly. She hugged Sarah close, giving her the comforting touch of a mother- she probably desperately wished she was with her own child now. ‘’We’re gonna put an end to this mess, I promise.”

While Joan tried to calm Sarah down, Brianna, Regina and Tamara attacked the door again, to no avail. It was stubbornly stuck, and the water just kept rising inside. They were mice scrambling inside the bucket, with no idea how to get out.

When Freddie appeared, it was like salvation at last. Brianna’s heart gave a happy flutter when she realized Freddie’s voice wasn’t in her head, it was coming from outside the door.

‘’Brianna? Are you in here?”

‘’We are here!” Brianna yelled back. Despite the horrible circumstances, she couldn’t help but grin. Freddie was here, she was alright. That was what mattered.

‘’I’m gonna get you out of there!” Freddie promised. A huge piece of concrete blocked the door, along with a few chairs swept inside from the hall. Freddie took a deep breath. They seemed incredibly heavy, but they couldn’t waste any more time. She threw the chairs out of the way, then grabbed at the concrete, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration. As expected, it wouldn’t move.

The room just kept filling with water. It reached their knees now. Sarah had her face buried in Joan’s shoulder. Brianna swallowed thickly, then nodded at her friends.

‘’Let’s keep trying with the door!” She instructed. It was probably futile, but they couldn’t just lie down and give up. They had to keep trying.

They yanked and pushed helplessly at the door, while Freddie struggled with the concrete outside. She may have been a little bit stronger than humans, but not as much as to be able to lift something so heavy. Her muscles ached and burned as she kept trying, her joints creaking in protest. She felt like her entire body was falling apart from the pain, but still nothing happened.

‘’Freddie, you can do it.” Brianna said through the door. The water now brushed their waists. ‘’I know you can. You can do anything you put your mind to, my love, because you’re strong, and brave, and smart. We’re gonna get out of here, and we’re gonna try and stop the Goddess. And I know that we can, because we have you, and we didn’t get this far to give up now!”

‘’I can’t…” Freddie whimpered. Tears and sweat poured down cheeks. The water at the floor barely reached her tail, not giving her as much energy as she needed. She was exhausted, and desperate, and no matter what she did, it just wasn’t enough. They were all trapped, and the humans are all going to die, because of her. The entire human world will collapse, and Freddie wouldn’t be able to put an end to it.

‘’Yes, you can!” Brianna’s voice was fierce, determined. ‘’Freddie, listen to me. You are so much more than what Sheffield and the likes make of you. You are so special, so different from these terrible people. You are my soulmate, the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you so much, and I’m not going to let you give up. I’m not going to let you forget who saved my life during that storm, who pulled me to safety and healed me. I’m not going to let you forget who changed my entire life, who showed me a beautiful world so different from my own, but what I long to be a part of, because you’re in it! You’re the key to everything, Freddie. You unite our worlds, and you’re a fighter. You can get us out, and you can stop the Goddess. You have saved me once, and I know that you can do it again- you just need to believe in yourself, and in our love.”

Freddie glanced down at her ring, the one Brianna got her, shining weakly against her skin. She closed her eyes, letting Brianna’s words echo inside her head, filling her mind and heart until she nearly burst with them. She could do this. For Brianna, for their friends, for the entire world. She could save them again, like how she saved Brianna from the ship crash.

She felt a warmth tingle inside her chest, filling up her every cell, slowly. Energy and power fluttered under her skin, her body coming alive slowly as the tips of her fingers lit up with a rarely seen orange glow. Freddie’s eyes snapped open, and she let out a gasp as she realized her entire body was glowing, filling up with the same magic she used to heal Brianna with. The tension slowly eased from her muscles, the pain subsiding as if it has never been there: she felt more alive, more powerful than she had ever been. She hasn’t used her magic since that day, but it didn’t seem to fade away with time: if anything, it only grew stronger.

Freddie was supposed to have only healing powers-but it seemed like the magic coursing through her veins was more powerful than Freddie realized; she suddenly felt like she could do anything she put her mind to, just like Brianna said.

She grabbed onto the concrete again, and lifted it easily like a piece of paper, throwing it out of the way. The door came next: she tore it off its hinges, releasing the water and the trapped humans who floated out by the sudden flood.

Freddie caught Brianna in her arms, tears of happiness and relief streaming down her face. Brianna held onto her, eyes wide and jaw hanging open.

‘’Why are you glowing?” She asked, touching Freddie’s face tenderly. It felt warm under her fingertips. Freddie shook her head, laughing.

‘’I don’t know! My magic, it’s… it’s stronger than ever!”

‘’That is some great news!” Tamara yelled, holding onto a pole to try and keep up against a wave that was about to drift her away. ‘’Can you get us out with your magic?”

‘’We won’t need magic for that.” Freddie said, looking over the state of the building. Everything was swimming around them as the flood raged inside. Creaks and whines filled the air as the walls started to crumble.  
‘’We’re gonna let the tide take us.” Freddie said. She grabbed onto Brianna’s hand, who held Sarah. Regina and Tamara joined, and they all clung together against the current. Brianna smiled down at Freddie, eyes shining in genuine awe.

‘’I told you that you can do this.” She whispered, her voice full of adoration. ‘’I trust you. We all do.”

They all took a deep breath, and let go. Freddie would probably never forget the shrill screams of the humans as the water took them forward, towards the main exit. They held onto each other for dear life, ducking out of furniture and debris on the way. They crushed through the exit just in time before half of the building came down, collapsing in on itself with a mighty rumble.

‘’If we survive, we’re gonna tell Roderick all about this once he’s older. But I doubt he will believe us.” Regina groaned. They were all ragged, soaked and cold, but the fight was still far from over.

‘’Climb!” Brianna yelled, pointing at a few platforms that weren’t underwater yet. Some of the guests were hanging onto them, muttering prayers and curses under their breaths. Brianna was relieved to see a lot of children in relative safety, and she hoped most of the people survived- so far, anyways. They still needed to get through to the Goddess somehow, and make her stop her rampage. She didn’t even want to imagine what was going on in the rest of the country, and the rest of the world. She desperately hoped her family at home was alright.

While Regina, Joan, Tamara and Sarah started scrambling to safety, Brianna turned to Freddie. Her soulmate was still glowing- it was equal amounts terrifying and beautiful.

‘’How are you going to get through to the Goddess?” Brianna asked. She ducked out of the way of a bucket that the wind picked up, in the very last minute. ‘’Do you have a plan?”

‘’I’m not sure it’s a plan, but I think I can find a way.” Freddie replied. ‘’Maybe it’s because of my magic, but I have a feeling I can talk to her…it’s so strange. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s almost like she’s right here beside me, and I just have to reach out.”

‘’Or maybe you have earned it.” Brianna said with a smile. ‘’You said meeting the Goddess was a privilege you had to work for, right? You certainly earned it, Freddie. Because you’re so brave, and has the biggest heart out of everyone I know.”

She grabbed the back of Freddie’s head and crashed their lips together in a short, but passionate kiss. Neither of them knew what was going to happen, if Freddie really would manage to talk to the Goddess, and stop her. They had no idea if they would survive this day; this very well could be their last kiss, and if it was, they had to make it the best they ever had.

‘’I love you so much.” Brianna whispered against Freddie’s lips, blinking away a stubborn tear that gathered in her eye. Freddie let out a shaky breath, holding onto Brianna’s hands.

‘’I love you too, more than anything else in this world.” Freddie replied. She gave Brianna’s hand one last squeeze, before letting go. ‘’Join your friends, and be safe.”

Brianna nodded, feeling heavy as she swam away from Freddie to climb up to the platform. Several people, along with her friends, reached out to help her get to safety. Once she was up, she turned to see Freddie standing in the water, unbothered by the waves that picked up again. Her eyes were closed, and she glowed even brighter than before.

It was different from what Freddie has ever experienced her whole life. She felt like she was floating, but she wasn’t, not physically: she could feel her heart lifting, rising towards the skies, over the sea, searching for her target. Images of her home flashed before her eyes, the dark bottom of the sea, the different creatures that lived down there; sharks, different types of fish and dolphins swam behind her closed eyelids. She saw Delilah, splashing around and chirping playfully. She saw her cave, saw her friends and her family, all the merfolk living in peace and happiness. She saw the beautiful gift that was the sea, the richness, the mystique, and the power of it all. It felt like as if a door has opened at last, inside her heart, and she felt her skin prickle with so much magic, she nearly buckled under the weight of it, like lightning has struck her body. Her body trembled, and tears sprung into her eyes by the sheer ecstasy of the moment. It was an indescribable feeling, like experiencing every single emotion, and reliving every single memory at the same time. It was powerful, terrifying and grandiose, nearly too much for Freddie to handle.

She has found her.

Her eyes opened slowly, and the world was bright. She saw colors that she hasn’t before, heard sounds that very only for the most delicate ears to hear. Her mind was open, fully, for the deity to reach.

‘’Hear me, mighty Sea Goddess,” Freddie spoke, her voice alien and far away, ‘’I need to speak to you.”

For a few seconds, it was silent, except for the rumbling of the storm. Then a voice came from the skies, from behind the raging waves of the sea, incomparable to anything else Freddie has ever heard. 

She hasn’t heard it with her ears, but with her mind, much like when she was mentally talking with her soulmate.

_Then speak, my child._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freddie gets to have her Captain Marvel moment.


	17. Chase Away The Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight to convince the Goddess, save the world and defeat the evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling the end of this chapter will be very satisfying to most of you, but not to spoil aything 🤭

_Then speak, my child._

My child- the way the Goddess said it, in an almost fond and warm way, reminded Freddie so much of her own mother at home. Her heart ached thinking about her family- where could they be now, were they safe? Did Sheffield’s men find them before the storm started? Did they catch her friends? Was this thunderous rage all for nothing if the merfolk had been already captured?

Freddie closed her eyes again, swallowing thickly. She needed to put her personal worries aside- right now, she could only hope for the best. She had the entire world to save, and the only way to do that was to pull herself together, and be brave, like Brianna told her to be.

‘’You need to stop this.” Freddie said, holding her head high. She didn’t know what she could expect from the Goddess, what the deity would do if Freddie accidentally enraged her; but this was their very last chance. She couldn’t be afraid.

‘’You need to end your wrath, and stop killing the world!”

_I am not the one who’s killing this world, Freddie. The humans are, and they are suffering the consequences of their actions._

‘’You’re wrong about them,” Freddie said. Her chest tingled warmly from the magic flowing through her veins, and the love filling her heart when she thought about Brianna. ‘’They are not like what you say at all.”

_Aren’t they? They have robbed you away from your home. They locked you up, and abused you. They went to attack your family, how can you say that I am wrong about them, when I saw it all happening?_

‘’Some of them are mean-spirited, you are right about that.” Freddie admitted, shivering when she thought about Sheffield- she had no idea where he was right now, in the middle of the chaos. Was he dead?

‘’Some of them really hurt this world, and I understand that you are angry at them for it. We all are. But,” Freddie took a deep breath, turning her head to the side. She spotted Brianna amongst the people holding onto the platform, saw her blurry and shadowy through the glowing filter of the magic field sizzling around her, but it made her smile all the same. ‘’Many of them are good, and pure. They are fighting to make this world a better place, trying to hold their peers back from doing evil things. They feel ashamed about the state of this world, and they want to fix it. They deserve to get a chance at trying to do so.”

_What’s a few good-hearted people to a billion of evil? They don’t have the power to stop the poison from further spreading. Only I can stop them, and the time has come. They need to understand the weight of their crimes._

‘’I think they already did.” Freddie replied, voice solemn. ‘’They are scared, and they are hurt. Some of them are dead. They saw what happened here today. We can make them understand if you just stop this. A dead human cannot learn from their mistake. You have given them quite a lesson, and I have no doubt they all understand now. You need to give them the chance to fix the many mistakes they did, to work on making their world a better place. This life would be so much duller without humans. We have separated our worlds all along, scared of and hating each other, but we are not even that much different. Merfolk have their own unique culture, but so do humans. They need to live on, continue to thrive and raise their younglings to be better people than they were. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

The Goddess was silent for a while. Freddie’s heart hammered inside her chest as she waited for her answer. Time was running out for the humans; the floods kept rising in level, the storms continued to rage on. Sea animals, freshly freed from their cages floated around, desperate to get back to the sea. It was chaos, disaster and despair, not at all what this world deserved. Freddie meant every single word she said- she had plenty of reason to turn against humans, but she remained hopeful. She was still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, because she still saw the good in the hearts of many of them. They deserved better, a new chance to work towards a better future. Freddie was willing to do anything it took to give them that chance.

‘’My soulmate is a human,” Freddie continued softly, ‘’we love each other dearly. Look at her, her heart is pure. Her job is literally to make this world a better place. She fights against Sheffield and people similar to him. She loved and accepted me from the start. She always tried to keep me safe, she risked her life and her job to get me out of here. There is not a single ounce of hatred in her heart. Her friends, they are such good people, a part of her team. They never tried to hurt me. All they do is fight against bad people, and help animals. They heal the injured ones and release them back to the sea, they help them populate and save them from certain death. They love the sea, almost as much as those who live in it do. Their goals are similar to yours: to protect the creatures of the ocean, to stop greed and fix this world.”

_Your soul is connected to that human on accident. I have made a mistake, but there was no way for me to fix it. Your bond was so deep, I couldn’t undo it, no matter how hard I tried. I managed to keep you apart for most of your lives, but then I sent that storm and ruined everything, because you two met. It was a huge mistake._

‘’It wasn’t,” Freddie protested, ‘’it wasn’t, and if you really do see everything, then you should see that, too. You should see how much we love each other, and how everything I said is true. Brianna is a good human, and so are her friends. So are many of the people here.”

She gestured towards the platform, to the people staring in fear. ‘’Look at them,” Freddie said, voice full of determination, ‘’look at them and tell me you think they are all irredeemable evil. Look at those small, scared children. What have they ever done, to deserve this? They are so young, their whole life is ahead of them. They need to grow up, need to experience all the wonders this would give. They could clean up the mess their parents made if you just gave them the chance. Look at all these people. Some of them might not be perfectly pure, but not all of them are completely evil. Everyone has some good in their hearts, you just need to find it. People like Sheffield will get their fair punishment all the same. But you need to spare those who did nothing against you and your creatures. You can’t punish them for a crime they haven’t even committed!”

More silence. Freddie’s anticipation grew, along with the level of the water rising. It nearly reached the platform now. There was no more that could be done.

_My child, you have proven yourself. You proved that you really earned my grace. I always felt you were special amongst your kind, and I was right. You are the one with the purest heart and the most powerful magic. You have unlocked your true power, and you have opened up your heart in a way that is truly enviable. Nothing could break you, nothing could take your hope away. You and your human soulmate are meant to be. Your love held on, despite the mistakes I have made. You speak the truth: she is amongst the best humans, along with her friends. I have judged her wrong, maybe I have judged the entire human world wrong. You have managed to make a goddess change her mind, and that is no small feat, my child. You deserve for your wish to come true. I’m leaving this world alone for the humans to fix it, but they need to do it, this is their very last chance. I’m proud of you, Freddie, for standing up for your love, and for what you believe in. You have my support for the rest of your life._

With that, the rain abruptly stopped, like someone just shut it off. The waves pulled back to the sea, the wind stopped howling. The dark clouds slowly dissipated, the sky once again turning a clear blue. First weakly, then stronger, the Sun shone through, warming up the cold world and shivering people. Now that the world turned bright again, the damage was obvious: everywhere Freddie looked, she saw debris, cars turned upside down and poles fallen to the ground. Sheffield’s entire operation was gone, his building halfway buried in the sea. There was a lot of cleaning and fixing to be done in the world, but what mattered is that they survived. The Goddess heard her out, and stopped her rage just in time. The world was saved.

People were cheering, sobbing and hugging each other in relief. Freddie’s magic flickered out, the glow subsided- but she knew it was still right there, inside of her. She has earned her powers, the ability to change things for the better. No matter how exhausted she felt, she was satisfied to know she really did push through all the odds.

She was suddenly scooped up in a hug, squealing when Brianna twirled her around. Her lover was laughing, tears of relief and pure joy streaming down her face.

‘’You did it, Freddie,” she whispered, showering Freddie’s cheeks in kisses, ‘’you saved us. You saved the entire world!”

‘’I couldn’t have done it without you.” Freddie said, wrapping her arms around Brianna’s neck. Brianna lowered her just enough that the tip of her tail reached the puddle beneath them, letting Freddie regain some of her lost strength. 

‘’You were always by my side, and encouraged me. You were the reason I could push through. I would have never been able to face a Goddess by myself if it wasn’t for you. You may not have magic, but you are the most powerful one here.”

Brianna blushed, and Freddie kissed her deeply, unable to smile against her lips. She felt like she could burst with joy: everything finally seemed to be clicking into place. The world was safe, for now, they were alive and relatively well, she was also in the good grace of the Sea Goddess herself- it was sweet victory after so many hardships, at last.

‘’You fucking bitch! You ruined everything!”

Freddie and Brianna tore apart at the unpleasant voice, just in time to see a ragged, soaked, and very furious Sheffield marching towards them. His clothes were torn, he had several scars that were still bleeding, and the hatred in his eyes was more vile than ever. He pointed an accusive finger at Freddie, teeth bared in a snarl.

‘’You couldn’t just keep your dumb mouth shut, could you? This would have never happened if it wasn’t for you!”

‘’She just saved the world, and your sorry ass along with it.” Brianna snapped at him, holding Freddie close with one arm. ‘’I think you should feel grateful, and you should look very deeply inside of you. This was because of you, actually. You and your cruelty against animals, your greed and your jealousy.”

Sheffield chuckled, rolling his eyes at them. He stood on the remains of his building, a king on his broken throne. The waves of the sea danced at his feet, where the remains fell into the shallow water, but he didn’t seem to care. He was just a shadow of his proud self, consumed by rage and bitterness. He cared more about the money and the fame that he lost, than the fact the world nearly ended.

‘’I’m gonna shut down your Institute,” Sheffield growled at Brianna, ‘’you will pay for this! Don’t you dare think you can get away with ruining everything I had. You will suffer for this, you will all do.” His eyes snapped at Freddie, nearly glowing with anger. ‘’And you,” he hissed, ‘’you disgusting freak of nature!”

He grabbed a broken pole with a sharp edge, and lifted it over his head. He aimed at Freddie, but before he could throw, a rock hit him in the back of his head, causing him to yelp in pain and drop his makeshift spear. When he turned around to see who attacked him, three mermaids popped out of the water with more rocks. Freddie gasped, tears filling her eyes when she recognized her friends, alive and seemingly unharmed.

‘’Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Petra growled, throwing another stone at him. Sheffield swore and stumbled, raising his arms above his head to protect himself from the shower of rocks.

‘’If you thought you can hurt our friend, you thought very wrong!” Phoebe shrieked, throwing two rocks at once. Sheffield didn’t have the chance to grab his weapon again, unable to hold up against the heavy rocks hitting him.

‘’Enjoy some merfolk hospitality!” Etta yelled, throwing a particularly large rock at him. It was a somewhat ridiculous sight, to see the mighty Sheffield going down by three furious mermaids throwing rocks at him, but truth be told, Freddie enjoyed the show. She might have given most humans the benefit of the doubt, but it was clear nothing would help Sheffield. He was a lost cause, who would never change for the better.

Sheffield finally managed to deflect a few rocks, and managed to grab his spear again. Freddie and Brianna were about to jump in to hold him back, but the other people at the remains of the park did it instead. Freddie and Brianna watched with wide eyes as a group of angry people tackled Sheffield, twisting his weapon out of his hand. They ignored his cursing and his pleas, and continued shoving and kicking at him. They were furious: they finally realized how cruel this man was, how they had been living in a lie all along. They saw what happened to the world when cruelty and greed triumphed, and they wanted no more of it. They wanted to weed the bad seed out, so they could be safe, and live a better life. They proved themselves worthy of saving, at last. They were true to Freddie’s words, had good in their hearts and had the quality to redeem themselves. The first step on that journey was to get rid of those whose fault this entire catastrophe was.

They yanked and shoved at him until he stumbled down, falling into the sea. He landed with a satisfying splash, spluttering.

‘’You just made a huge mistake!” He screamed, splashing around. The people shook their heads, staring at him with disappointment in their eyes.

‘’No, you did.” A man said. ‘’You did, when you captured that mermaid, when you decided to use your wealth for hurting people and animals. You lied to us, acted like you were some kind of savior. You’re one of the reasons this world went to shit. We nearly all died because of you!”

‘’You surely don’t believe that stupid fish!” Sheffield laughed hysterically. ‘’You are all crazy if you do! She’s not normal, she’s a monster, she deserves to be in a cage and dissected! She’s a scientific discovery, she’s not like us!”

‘’Okay, I think that’s enough.” Etta said, rolling her eyes. ‘’We brought some company in case you didn’t stop acting like a fool. Humans, cover the eyes of your children.”

Albeit confused, the humans did. Freddie’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head when Etta whistled, and the giant white shark emerged from under the water, his terrifying jaw open wide. When Sheffield noticed it, he started swimming for his life, screaming for help-but just like how he was more than willing to sacrifice other’s life and well-being, the people decided to turn away from him, too. 

As much as Freddie hated him, she still hissed when the shark swallowed him whole. It was a gruesome death, even if it was a well-deserved one.

Brianna hugged her close, stroking her hair. She was trembling from anxiety and exhaustion, but her voice was steady and calm.

‘’It’s over,” she whispered into Freddie’s hair, ‘’it’s all over.”

They both started crying. Regina, Tamara and Joan joined them in a group hug, while Phoebe, Etta and Petra were smiling at them from the sea. It was really over- the world was saved, Sheffield was gone, the merfolk and the humans were all safe. It was everything they have ever wanted.

Even through the tears, Freddie smiled, resting her weary head on her soulmate’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the main conflict obviously ended here- the remaining chapters will be much calmer, but there is something major still waiting for us, so bear with me!


	18. For A Brighter Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world is about to change for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After so many intense and dramatic chapters, I'm giving you something much calmer and light-hearted, mostly just a glimpse into how everything changed after the wrath of The Sea Goddess was gone, before we jump to the big finale!

After the world nearly ended just a couple months prior, drastic changes had occurred all over the globe.

The humans now realized that if they didn’t start treating their planet with the kindness and care it deserved, the reckoning would be terrifying. They had to start working together, as a unit, to clean up the mess they made, and ensure a better, brighter future for themselves and many more generations to come.

The voice of activism grew louder, with many more people joining the good cause. All over the world events were organized, where the main purpose was to clean up litter, plant flowers and trees; schools made it their mission to teach children about environmental issues and how to fix them.

Oil companies were given an ultimatum: they would either start using sustainable energy and stop dumping their toxic waste into the sea, or there would be consequences. Even the mayor of Brighton, who was funding Sheffield’s abusive operation was removed from his office. No one wanted a repeat of the Sea Goddess’ wrath: it was a horrible chain of events that lead to many deaths and destruction. Entire cities had to be re-built after the chaos the infuriated deity unleashed on the world as part of her revenge. Before the Goddess left, she gave the humans one last chance to fix their mistakes- otherwise it could happen all over again. 

Obviously, not everyone cared. People like Sheffield, who were unable to learn from their mistakes, still refused to change their ways of living- but there was still some light at the end of the tunnel. People held together and turned against those who refused to make the world a better place. Finally, the right people were held accountable of the destruction of the planet; not the poor, the little people who had zero to none affect on the grand scheme of things, but those who held the power, who were greedy and had terrible tunnel vision. It would be a slow process, clearly, to convince every single person to work together, not to mention some poorer countries definitely didn’t have all the options. But help was on the way- instead of turning against one another, humans started reaching out for those in need. It was sad, that it took a whole apocalypse for these changes to start happening, but it was always better late than never.

People definitely started caring about animals rights as well. One of the focal points behind the revenge of the Goddess was the terrible treatment of her creatures, and all creatures in the world. The protection of endangered species increased; they made the first steps towards making stricter regulations that forbade the hunting of those species. Sea amusement parks and circuses where they abused animals closed, with the owners facing charges in the foreseeable future. It was really time everyone understood you couldn’t use and abuse your planet, and all those it gave, without repercussions.

Another big change came in relation to the treatment of merfolk.

The fairytale had come true: mermaids and mermen existed. They lived so close to the human world since the beginning of time. They weren’t even all that different: both species had their own set of unique, colorful culture, their own legends and history, their own pain and happiness. They shared the same language, and to an extent, the same values. Merfolk had magic and abilities humans could only dream of, while humans had inventions that made merfolk gasp in surprise. Both were important part of the ecosystem, both valuable inhabitants of this planet.

Humans had a tendency to be scared of what was different; they treated the merfolk with the same distrust, those people who were lucky enough to come across one of them. Perkins had killed and dissected that poor mermaid like a piece of meat, treating her like a scientific discovery and nothing else. Sheffield used Freddie as an entertainment, something pretty to put out on display. None of them cared about what those mermaids went through; they only used them for their own gain.

This had to stop. People now knew merfolk existed, but it was time for them to treat this knowledge right- they had to leave the merfolk to be, without disturbing them. The same movements that started raising their heads back in the ‘50s when Perkins captured that mermaid rose up again. ‘’Merfolk rights are human rights” was their rallying call. They saw Freddie, scared and longing to be home, suffering in the clutches of Sheffield. They heard her speak, the same language they did, pleading and asking them to open their eyes. They saw her taking a stand, bravely facing a powerful Goddess, just to save the very same people that mistreated her. They experienced the goodness of her heart, the heroic efforts she used to try and save the world from destruction. How could they hurt someone like that, when she has saved everyone, even though she had every right to just let them fall?

People started thinking of merfolk as humans, too. Catching a mermaid equaled kidnapping, killing them for whatever reason was considered murder. This was the gratitude of the humans: they apologized to merfolk in their own way, by leaving them alone and not hurting them anymore. In exchange, the merfolk started trusting humans: they were still wary, but they finally didn’t swim away in panic whenever a human appeared on the shore. Some of them even offered to help humans with their healing magic: Freddie, Kareem, Phoebe, Etta and Petra all volunteered to help whenever it was needed. Even Freddie’s parents had warmed up to the idea of humans a little: they saw how they were on their side now, instead of against them. They finally started to accept, that their daughter’s heart will always belong to a human. Finally, everyone started to realize that instead of being scared of each other, the two species could co-exist in peace.

And it was all because of a brave mermaid and an open-minded human, who fell in love with each other, and decided to fight for their love against all odds.

Brianna became one of the main spokesperson on behalf of the Brighton Institute, as well as a huge advocate for merfolk rights. Along with Tamara, Regina and Joan, and the rest of their operation, they continued the good fight; there was still a lot that needed to be done, but it felt like people were more willing to listen now.

‘’What we need to understand, is that doing the bare minimum wouldn’t be enough,” Brianna said into the microphone on one of the rallies. It filled her heart with excitement and hope to see so many people gathering around to listen to them.

‘’The fight is nearly not over. We still have so much to do. There’s still way too much waste in the oceans, still so many animals on the verge of extinction because of excess hunting and pollution. Still so many countries are without clean water and livable circumstances. We have to achieve a world where these problems don’t exist anymore. We used to think this was impossible, but look at us, now. Just in a few months, we changed so many things, so drastically, and that’s because we are now all working towards a common goal, instead of attacking each other. If we can keep doing this, if we can keep holding onto each other and trying to make this world a better place, then we can ensure ourselves a long, healthy life on a healthy, thriving planet. We shouldn’t only be doing this, because we are scared of the Sea Goddess, or the rest of the Goddesses, whose wrath could be even more dangerous. We need to do this for ourselves, for a sustainable environment, for a better future for our children. It’s time we put our personal comfort aside, and started thinking of ourselves as one big team. And like it or not, animals are part of that team, too. And so are merfolk.”

Her eyes drifted to Freddie on the side, who was sitting in a small pool, smiling at her proudly. Freddie often accompanied them on these events to talk about merfolk culture, to educate and encourage humans to treat them better, as well as to not be afraid of different. People were proud of her what she did for them, and they were willing to hear her out.

‘’Brianna is right,” Freddie said softly, ‘’it’s for you, and for us. I know, how scary the wrath of the Goddess was. I was also so close to losing those I loved, I understand your worries. But you cannot leave in fear. You need to hold onto the hope, that this world could be better, for all of you. We all need a clean, safe, happy place, and this is your chance to make it happen. This is our chance to put our differences aside, and focus on what unites us, on our common goal.”

‘’There are more Goddesses?” Someone from the crowd asked. Freddie nodded.

‘’Yes. The four daughters of Mother Nature: The Sea Goddess, The Ice Goddess, the Goddess of The Forest and the Goddess of The Desert. Us, merfolk, can only communicate with the Sea Goddess, so if one of those other Goddesses unleash their wrath on the world, I wouldn’t be able to stop them. We need to make sure this will never happen again.”

People raised their hands, talking over each other to ask Freddie more questions about the culture of merfolk, and she was always happy to provide them with information. In all her life, she firmly believed merfolk shouldn’t feel terrified of humans, and vice versa; now the time has finally come for them to cross the scary line that separated them. They could both learn from each other.  
Brianna watched Freddie with ever-growing pride. This small, curious mermaid was the bravest, stronger person she has ever met. Freddie was her soulmate, her other half, something she could never live without; every single second not spent with her was torture and a waste of time. Freddie meant so much for her, and Brianna was so proud of her soulmate: together, they achieved so much, and the rest was still yet to come.

She passed the rest of the questions she got over to her friends. Joan, Tamara and Regina fought just as hard as her, and deserved just as much attention for the work they put in. Charlie, their boss, watched them with pride, like a father, despite being only a few years older than them. He had told Brianna and the rest of them how proud he was of them for what they did- they did what he was too scared to do, standing up against Sheffield. He wasn’t too keen on praises, so it was quite the huge moment when he told them this.

Brianna walked to the pool Freddie was residing in, kneeling next to her on the ground. She cupped her cheek, making the mermaid smile.

‘’I’m gonna take you back to the sea soon,” Brianna said with a small, slightly sad smile. It was never easy to separate from Freddie at the end of the day. Freddie kissed her palm gently.

‘’Today was another successful day. And this would just keep going on. I think everyone understands now, Brianna. How similar we all are, and how we shouldn’t be scared anymore. We need to be brave and do things we were so afraid of doing. Merfolk lived their lives in fear, thinking all humans were out to hurt them, and humans were scared of the different creatures. The Institute was scared of Sheffield, and I was scared of the Goddess. But we all gathered our courage, and look at us, now. We are going to make this world a better place.”

‘’I couldn’t have done this without you,” Brianna said softly, kissing her on the forehead. ‘’You saved the entire world.”

‘’Because you saved me.” Freddie replied with a gentle smile. Brianna chuckled.

‘’Well, not really- I got locked up in a storage room, remember?”

Freddie let out a hearty laugh, resting her head on Brianna’s chest. ‘’Still, it was your courage and determination that pushed me through. You make me stronger. The Goddess was wrong, you and me being soulmates wasn’t a mistake: it was a gift. It was fate.”

‘’It was.” Brianna agreed, pressing her lips against Freddie’s for a chaste, but sweet kiss. ‘’Every single day I feel grateful that the Goddess messed up, and connected my soul to yours. Together, we can do anything. We already did so much.”

Freddie grinned, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her into a deeper kiss. Brianna was right: they saved the world, caused people to finally open their eyes, shut down Sheffield’s operation and saved the suffering animals. They pushed humans and merfolk closer together. Freddie returned to the sea, to her friends and family, and to her loyal pets Delilah and the white shark who sort of plastered himself to her side and refused to leave- Freddie named him Goliath. Brianna and her friends could continue their mission of raising awareness and rescuing animals; Joan and Regina were back with their baby, holding their sweet little Roderick in their arms again. Sarah started working for the Brighton Institute instead, where she could take advantage of her good heart; she could finally work for a noble purpose.

They were all thriving, and the rest was still yet to come.


	19. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sea Goddess offers Brianna a gift for her kindness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I think this is rather our finale, and the last chapter is an epilogue! I hope everyone enjoyed it so far, and that I can interest you in a ''glimpse into the future"- esque last chapter, too! ❤️

Brianna should have been happy, she was aware. She should have been floating on cloud nine constantly, after they pretty much avoided an apocalypse. The world was saved, and the people finally listened to what her and team was saying for all these years: there was a chance now, that the world will finally be that thriving, livable place Brianna always dreamt it. They were all safe and sound, away from harm. Sheffield was gone, and Freddie was back at the ocean where she belonged, occasionally emerging to educate the humans a little.

After all these, how came that Brianna’s heart ached like someone tore a hole into it? Why did she feel so down when she should be flying high, why was she still yearning in the same way she did before she met Freddie, even though she had her soulmate now?

Brianna suspected the answer, of course. Every single minute spent without Freddie was torture: she actually experienced physical pain, true torment upon being away from her. Brianna considered it was a soulmate matter, probably, her heart screaming out for her other half in desperation. Their rendezvous on the beach, their weekly visits couldn’t satisfy that primal hunger inside her. They could spend some more time together now that they didn’t have to worry about ill-intentioned humans revealing their secret, but it still wasn’t enough. Brianna wished she could spend all her time with Freddie, but it was impossible. Freddie couldn’t stay long enough on dry land for that, and Brianna couldn’t spend all her life in a diving suit. It just wouldn’t work.

It was a painful realization, to know that they could never be truly together, not like real lovers. They couldn’t live together the same way, waking up in each other’s arms and falling asleep listening to each other’s heartbeat. Brianna could tell Freddie was suffering just as much as she did: she saw the same fatigue in her eyes, could hear the exhaustion in her voice whenever they spoke, verbally and mentally alike. Both of them needed more, but they weren’t sure how to make it possible. They saved the world, they fought against all odds- and this was the end of their relationship? Could soulmates even break up with each other? There was still so much Brianna didn’t know, and what Freddie also wasn’t exactly sure of. All they were certain of is that they loved each other deeply, and felt like dying because they couldn’t be together.

The answer to Brianna’s pleas arrived during the night, waking her from her dream with a gentle breeze caressing her face. She rolled onto her side with a groan, eyes flicking open. She couldn’t see anything or anyone in the room, but somehow could feel their presence. It wasn’t scary, but it was definitely a little intimidating: Brianna could feel the power of that presence in her bone, a guttural instinct telling her that she had been visited by something grand.

‘’Who’s there?” She asked the darkness. The voice was gentle, warm, and it echoed in Brianna’s skull. It was almost as if she could hear it with her mind and heart, rather her with her ears, and she immediately realized whom she was talking to.

_My child, you have earned to speak to me. Tell me what is bothering you._

Just in a few months’ time, Brianna experienced so many incredible things, she still couldn’t believe it. First of all, she was rescued by a mermaid, whom she fell in love with. Then her soulmate was kidnapped, then it was her turn to get locked up and nearly die, while the world was literally falling apart. Goddesses, apocalypses, greedy businessmen and mythical creatures galore, and sometimes Brianna still expected to wake from her dream. Now, apparently, she was speaking to the Sea Goddess herself, the powerful deity that nearly killed everyone a little while ago. No wonder she sometimes had a hard time believing all that was happening.

‘’I’ve earned it?” Brianna questioned softly, sitting up in her bed. That was such a privilege, as Freddie told her. And she was just a human, she had no reason to ever believe she could speak to the Goddess.

_Freddie was right about you all along. I could never believe it because I felt like connecting your souls was a terrible mistake. I thought your love was an abomination, but I was wrong. You have such goodness in your heart, Brianna, the most I ever saw in a human. You are truly special among your kind, just like Freddie is unique even among merfolk. What I considered a mistake, was actually one of the most sensible things I’ve ever done- I’ve connected two pure, brave souls, who never gave up on each other. Who only held on stronger, when times were rough. You fought to make this world a better place, screaming in frustration when your fellow humans didn’t hear you. You nurtured the animals and helped restore my order. You cared deeply for Freddie, and protected her from harm. Yes, my child, you have certainly earned it- now, tell me what is bothering you, so I can help._

Brianna blinked, jaw gaping open. This was the closest someone could get to receive an apology from an actual Goddess, as well as being offered their help, and suddenly Brianna felt dumbstruck. She certainly wasn’t prepared for such an experience, especially in the middle of the night.

‘’I…” she started, swallowing when her mouth ran dry. ‘’I really miss Freddie. I wish we could always be together, but we can’t. And it’s killing the both of us to be apart.”

_That happens to soulmates in many cases, after they finally meet. It becomes nearly unbearable to be apart. The longer they are together, the more painful it becomes when they can’t see or talk to each other._

‘’I talk to her in my mind a lot, but it’s not the same,” Brianna sighed, picking at her nails. ‘’I need her presence, and she needs mine.”

_It’s calling you, isn’t it? You wonder why you kept pining, even after you connected with your soulmate. Something was left unfulfilled, and you want to know what it is._

‘’I…I guess we can say that, yes.”

_I’m looking into you soul right now, Brianna May, and I can see it now, clearer than ever, that I was wrong about you. I should have kept my eyes on you all your life, but my prejudice towards humans clouded my judgement. You really are special, more special than I even realized. How did I not notice this before?_

Brianna would have really appreciated it if the Goddess didn’t speak in riddles. What was she talking about? Why was she so special? She was just a human, who was simply more decent than the likes of Sheffield, why would that make her special?

_Sometimes, very, very rarely, it happens that someone is born in the wrong world. That their soul inhabits a body not meant for them. It’s not easy to notice, because they don’t really act different. It’s difficult even for a deity to notice. But what I see, Brianna, is that maybe you have landed in a place where you don’t belong._

‘’I don’t understand,” Brianna whispered, shaking her head. Now she was just more confused than before. The wrong place? The wrong world? What is she…?

‘’Wait, are you… are you implying I’m not human?” The words died on a gasp. That couldn’t have been possible. She was a human, through and through, that’s how she lived her life all along. Maybe she had her own quirks, and maybe she had that strangely deep connection to the sea world from the beginning, but it surely didn’t mean…

_No, you are. You are a human, but your heart doesn’t belong to the human world. It’s pulling you towards the sea. Maybe that is why I connected your soul to Freddie’s, because my hand was led by fate. Because deep down I knew that you might be a human, but you are indeed a very special one._

Ever since she was a kid, Brianna felt most in her element when she was around the sea. It was her place of comfort, the place of happiness. She felt drawn to the creatures that lived there, always dreaming of swimming with them, touching them- she wanted to be close to that world, longing to be a part of it. She thought that voice calling was Freddie all along, her soulmate- but what if there was another voice, one she didn’t hear quite as clearly? What if it was the sea itself, that kept calling her? Was it an accident that she was so adamant on becoming a marine biologist? That she made it her mission to research and save the sea environment? That her soulmate was a mermaid?

Her head swam, and she drew her knees up to her chest. It was too much, to think about it. She always felt a bit different, but could never quite put her finger on why that was. Now, it all made sense, but it was still somehow so confusing. She was a human, the Goddess told her, plain and simple. It was just that her heart was longing for something else, and after she found Freddie, that calling only got stronger because she knew she was supposed to be with her soulmate, at the place where they should both belong: the sea. 

‘’So, I’m a human, just a messed up one.” Brianna chuckled, ending it with a deep sigh. ‘’I guess I always knew that I didn’t quite belong. That the sea, and Freddie, were always my true calling. But that doesn’t solve my problem. I still cannot be together with Freddie, not in the way I want.”

_There might be a way. I gifted Freddie with my life long protection, and I’m willing to offer you a gift, too. A gift that helps you be with your loved one, at your own home, forever._

Brianna fell silent, feeling her chest tighten with a confusing mix of hope and fear. That would be what she needed: to be with Freddie, never away from her again, the constant, dull ache subsiding. But she had built a life here: she had family, friends, and a job here. It was not something she could just easily leave behind. 

She knew, though, that she would continue to be miserable. She would always feel out of place, and she would suffer without Freddie. She has finally found her soulmate, and she couldn’t let her go.

_You can think about it, it’s not an easy decision. But I trust you pick the fate you want the most._

The echo was gone, leaving Brianna alone, her thoughts swirling and her heart racing. She glanced out the window, where the Sun started to rise: on the horizon, the sea was painted in a warm orange, the first weak rays glinting off the surface. Brianna closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

The Goddess was right, it wasn’t an easy decision- but Brianna has learned how to think with her heart, not just with her head. And sometimes, that was the best way to think.

\--

Freddie’s cheeks went pale, and she clasped a hand over her mouth. She shook her head, rapidly, until she grew dizzy, trying to shake the words out of her ear. Brianna just smiled at her, the same warm way she always did.

‘’I cannot ask you to do that,” Freddie whispered frantically, ‘’I cannot ask you to throw your life away like that!”

Brianna took her hands in hers, squeezing them gently. She kissed Freddie’s knuckles, her smile unwavering.

‘’But you see, this is the whole point,” Brianna said softly, ‘’I have another way to live my life. I’m different than most humans, Freddie, I have the opportunity to choose.”

‘’And you would choose getting turned into a mermaid, just so you can be with me?” Freddie repeated the words in shock. She would have lied if she said that wasn’t something she so craved: that way, she could be with Brianna forever, and that was like a dream coming true. It hurt not to be around her: she was her soulmate, her other half. Freddie needed her. But that was such a major change- Brianna would have to leave everything behind. How could Freddie let that happen?

‘’Brianna, I love you,” Freddie whispered, cupping Brianna’s cheek. She looked into her eyes, deeply, getting lost in the beautiful hazel irises. ‘’I love you so much, and it would kill me to know you gave up everything for us. I’d rather feel lonely then make you do that!”

‘’You’re not making me do anything,” Brianna promised. She tucked a piece of hair behind Freddie’s ear with a smile. ‘’Don’t you get it, my love? I was offered the chance to decide. No one is forcing me to do anything. I have thought about it, long and hard. And I realized, I was always meant to be with you. Our souls are intertwined, our lives are tangled together since we were born. My heart kept pulling me towards the sea, and now I know why. It pulled me to you, and to a different home. My life can only be complete, if I’m here, with you. That is the only way for me to live, for us. I want this, Freddie. It’s not a last resort, not an act of desperation. It’s what I genuinely want.”

‘’But your job…” Freddie tried, feeling a painful twang inside her chest, thinking about everything that Brianna built so far, slipping away. ‘’You fought so hard to get where you are right now, this was your dream. You can’t work from underwater!”

‘’Actually, I can.” Brianna smirked. She held up a tiny thing, twirling it around between her fingers. ‘’This is an underwater camera with a built-in microphone. It’s the newest microchip technology. We used this one to track your friends when they came to the tunnel to rescue you. I can keep in contact with the Institute, and if I need a new one, I’ll just send an S.O.S from the backup server, and my team gets me a fully charged one.” To Freddie’s confused look, she laughed softly, kissing her on the forehead. ‘’It means I’ll never be far away from my work. I can keep talking to my team, and just think about it- there is no easier way to research the underwater environment, than actually living underwater and spreading the information from there!”

‘’That’s fair,” Freddie admitted softly. ‘’Still, you friends, and family… what did they say about this?”

‘’It wasn’t an easy conversation,” Brianna admitted, with a slightly solemn look. ‘’It will be hard, obviously. But they all live close to the shore, and they can come and visit me anytime. They all want what’s best for me, and they all know it’s you, Freddie. They want us to be together for many more years to come. My parents were obviously taken aback, considering up until this point they didn’t even know mermaids existed, but they love me, and they always knew my heart and my mind was somehow constantly somewhere else. They want me to live a fulfilling life.”

‘’And you’re sure that this is the way?” Freddie questioned. She wanted Brianna to be absolutely sure. ‘’You really thought this through, didn’t you?”

‘’Yes, I did. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” Brianna ran her thumb across Freddie’s ring, smiling fondly. ‘’Remember when I gave you this?”

‘’You told me that people gave rings to one another, when they wanted to be together forever.” Freddie reminisced with a soft smile. She giggled when Brianna kissed her ring.

‘’Well, you already have the ring,” Brianna said, giving Freddie a beautiful, genuine smile, ‘’don’t you think it’s time we fulfilled that promise?”

Freddie laughed wetly, and pulled her into a deep kiss full of hope and promise.

\--

They chose a secluded spot on the shore, to not be bothered by passersby. Brianna’s parents, Tamara, and Regina and Joan all came, they even brought little Roderick. They stood on the shore, while Freddie, Phoebe, Etta and Petra, and Freddie’s family peered out from the water by the rocks. They all came to witness a miracle happening.

Strangely enough, Brianna wasn’t as scared as she thought she would be. She was rather excited, thrilled over the premise of being with Freddie forever. She hugged her friends and her parents goodbye, holding each of them for a long time. They all knew they weren’t parting for good, not even close, but it was still difficult for everyone.

‘’You always went after your own head,” Harold May laughed, tears in his eyes as he patted his daughter’s head. ‘’But I knew you were special, and we just want you to be happy.”

Ruth May turned to Freddie, giving her a kind smile. Freddie smiled back. ‘’Will you keep my daughter safe?” Ruth asked softly. Freddie nodded, laying her palm over her heart.

‘’I will, I promise.”

‘’Wait until we tell the people you turned into a mermaid,” Regina laughed, wiping at her eyes, ‘’truly anything is possible, huh?”

Brianna gently patted her on the shoulder. Roderick grinned, and Brianna playfully flicked his nose, making him giggle.

‘’I trust you,” she told her friends with a smile, ‘’I believe we can continue our work this way. You are wonderful activists.”

‘’And you can always come and visit, you and Freddie.” Joan suggested with a proud smile. ‘’Nothing is lost, is it?”

‘’Not at all.”

‘’Come here, you idiot.” Tamara laughed wetly, squeezing her friend close again. Freddie watched the scene with a smile, her heart warm. Brianna was truly the bravest person she knew: she was so determined. If she put her mind to something, nothing could deter her from her path. In Freddie’s opinion, this trait was what made her truly special, not even where her heart belonged. 

The voice of the Goddess inside Brianna’s mind told her it was time. Brianna smiled at her friends and family once more, before she took Freddie’s hand. Freddie gave her an encouraging smile and slowly led her into the sea, holding her up when a wave crashed against her and made her lose her balance for a second. 

‘’Relax,” Freddie whispered, holding her soulmate close. ‘’It’s gonna be okay.”

Brianna’s skin started tingling, lighting up with an orange glow, similar to Freddie’s magic. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, just strange, unfamiliar. She gripped Freddie’s hand tighter, and closed her eyes. She faintly heard Freddie speaking words of encouragement, then the world went dark around her- somehow, she could still feel the light, filling up her entire body. Her heart beat fast as the power of the Goddess lifted her, wrapping her up in her magic.

It was over sooner than she expected. When she next opened her eyes, she was floating in the sea, not held up by anyone anymore. Freddie was smiling at her, tears glistening in her eyes. Freddie’s parents and friends stared in awe. Her own parents cried, but Brianna could tell those were the tears of joy and awe, rather than sadness. Her friends grinned widely.

When she looked down, she let out a gasp, covering her mouth. Instead of her legs, she saw a light blue, scaled tail. She moved it experimentally, nearly squealing when it splashed into the waves easily, the muscle memory from her legs kicking in.

‘’This is incredible,” she whispered, blinking away the sudden tears in her eyes. Freddie swam closer and wrapped her up in her arms, showering her cheeks in kisses.

‘’How do you feel?” She asked. Her heart was beating so loud, Brianna could hear it perfectly. Or maybe it was just the fact her entire body changed: she felt like her senses heightened. The colors were a bit sharper, the noises a bit louder- it was a little overwhelming, but not something she couldn’t get used to.

‘’Different,” Brianna said, her smile never faltering. ‘’But really, really great.”

‘’Welcome home,” Kareem grinned. Her parents and her friends cheered from the shore, and Brianna laughed with relief. Instantly, she could tell she would never regret this decision. It was something she wanted all her life, even if she suppressed it. Now, she could finally live her life to the fullest, with the woman she loved the most in the whole world.

She looked up at Freddie, her heart filling with warmth. She pressed her lips against hers happily, savoring the first moments of their forever.

‘’Do you wanna go for a swim to see how it really feels?” Freddie asked, eyes shining brightly. Brianna nodded with a grin, excitement tingling inside her chest.

Humans and merfolk alike cheered when she first dived in- it was very different to swim without legs, she had to use a completely different technique. But it seemed like she was a natural, because she swiped through the waves easily, grinning all the while. Freddie was holding her hand, sending her proud looks.

Brianna looked back at her, at those deep brown eyes and that beautiful smile, and she knew it was all worth it: all the struggles, the pain, the near ending of the world, leaving everything behind.

To be with the love of her life, it was all worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I was extremely torn over how to finish this fic. It has gotten to the point that I actually turned to my girlfriend, told her what the story was about, and asked her opinion about the finale- and this was what she suggested! I'm really curious about everyone's opinion 😊


	20. Stars Across The Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is beautiful underwater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the promised epilogue. Thanks so, so much to anyone who read this and stuck with me on this journey, and to those who left me any sort of feedback, it meant a lot! ❤️

‘’Ow! Hey, that wasn’t nice!”

Freddie giggled, badly hiding her laughter behind her hands as she watched Brianna pry a very angry little crab off her fingers. The tiny animal dropped down to the sandy bottom, immediately scurrying away, while Brianna cradled her hurt finger against her chest.

‘’That is pretty rude, considering we are partially to thank for your species not going instinct!” Brianna yelled after the crab, but there was already a smile playing on her lips. She could never be mad at animals, not for long, anyways.

‘’The crab doesn’t know about your heroic efforts, I’m afraid.” Freddie cooed, taking Brianna’s hand and kissing her slightly swollen finger. ‘’All they know is someone disturbed the seaweed they were resting in.”

‘’Fair enough.” Brianna smiled, pulling Freddie close against her side. They wrapped their tails together, a warm little gesture Brianna adored since she was turned into a mermaid. It was like being able to hug in new ways, every inch of their bodies huddled together.

‘’Crab-attack?” Etta popped up from behind a rock, grinning. ‘’Rookie mistake. You need to be very careful with those little shits.”

‘’It’s not a rookie mistake!” Freddie huffed, offended on Brianna’s behalf. ‘’They still scare me, or you, for that matter! And Brianna has been with us for two years now, she’s hardly a rookie!”

A warm smile spread on Brianna’s lips at the reminder. Two years, huh? Time flew by so impossibly fast, it felt almost as if it was only yesterday when the Sea Goddess gave her the most beautiful gift. Two years since Brianna left her human life behind to be with her soulmate- and she hasn’t regretted it, not for a single second. There were days, of course, when she missed her old life and her old friends, getting a little bit homesick, but that passed as quickly as it came. She could always pop up at the shore to pay her friends a visit, and she was very welcomed amongst humans.

Life didn’t change as radically as she expected. She still worked for the Institute, checking in with them for reports about underwater creatures. It was even more effective, because animals tended to trust mermaids more than humans, so Brianna could easily approach them. Freddie always accompanied her on these little missions, having a natural knack for being trusted by animals, as well as having a huge heart that wanted to help everyone. They made a really great team, working together with the rest of the Institute- they provided the information from underwater, while the team could take care of the rest. Their activism work didn’t end, either: Brianna and Freddie often came up to join their friends on their rallies, placed in their tanks for safety. There was still a lot that needed to be done after centuries of damage done to Earth, but the changes were obvious. The quality of the air increased by a huge amount, and the general pollution decreased. The water of the oceans were much cleaner, and there were major changes in temperature as well, the weather normalizing a bit after the global warming crisis. So far, there was no sign of sliding backwards: humans learned their lesson, and they continued to work together for more positive changes to come. The laws changed drastically, it was now everyone’s best interest to care about their environment and stop abusing it. Humans, merfolk and animals alike were thriving more and more with each day, and it filled both Freddie and Brianna’s hearts with pride to know their hard work was paying off.

Brianna adjusted to the mermaid life quite fast. Being a vegetarian, it wasn’t that big of a shock for her to eat seaweed- though she avoided eating fish and winced whenever she saw her beautiful soulmate sinking her teeth into one, but she could let that pass. Swimming was something she was always good at, and though sometimes she got tangled up in her own tail a little, still expecting legs- which was a sight that always made Freddie laugh- , she was faring really well. It was much harder to get used to being naked all the time- she still often tried to cover up her chest, she wasn’t used to run around topless all the time! But truth be told, it felt kind of liberating, and Freddie certainly didn’t complain about the sight of her. 

The rest of the merfolk was a bit wary at first, their fear of humans still ingrained way too deeply inside their brains, but they warmed up to her. Brianna was now one of them, she belonged with the merfolk. 

The best part in all of that, was being with Freddie. Now, every single day Brianna opened her eyes, she was in the cave, lying in a little nest with Freddie. She would go to sleep with her soulmate snoring away in her arms softly, her smaller body curled close to Brianna’s. It was like a never-ending dream, and Brianna was often worried she would wake up and realize her and Freddie were still apart. But every single time, she was reassured to see Freddie was right there with her, and that she would remain there, forever. 

Freddie’s parents were a bit difficult, they had a hard time accepting Brianna as a real mermaid. They often referred to her as a human in the beginning, not sure what to make of her living with them now- but Brianna remained patient, proving to them that she was worthy of their respect, and that she loved their daughter dearly. Now, she was considered a member of their family.

A little green light vibrated on her chip, and she smiled. Her friends would come diving soon. Their relationship was only stronger after Brianna moved underwater: they still remained close, and visited each other as often as possible.

‘’The girls are going to be here soon,” Brianna admitted. ‘’Let’s hurry up the collecting a bit, so we could be there in time!”

‘’Is Tamara coming, too?” Etta asked excitedly, hugging an armful of seaweed close to her chest. Freddie and Brianna shared a knowing look, giggling.

‘’It’s been two years, and you still couldn’t let go, huh?” Freddie teased. Etta just shrugged, eyes glinting with mischief.

‘’You two are the living examples of how it could work out between a mermaid and a human, so I’m not giving up hope.”

‘’But Etta, she is not inclined towards the ladies!” Brianna laughed. Etta just stuck her nose in the air, ignoring them.

‘’Hopeless, this one.” Phoebe said, fondly. She yelped when someone pinched her waist. She turned around, smacking a grinning Kareem.

‘’Freddie, control your brother, please!”

‘’He’s awful, he keeps pestering me, too!” Petra huffed. She raised her bouquet of seaweed like a weapon, threatening Kareem with it. ‘’Back off!”

‘’I’m just messing with you.” Kareem giggled, ducking out of the way of the seaweed. ‘’Just trying my luck, everyone is falling in love around me, I feel left out!”

‘’Well, you are trying to climb the wrong rocks.” Etta snickered. Freddie burst out laughing, pulling Kareem close and playfully bopping him on the nose.

‘’Let the girls be, Kareem,” she giggled, ‘’real love might be waiting just around the corner… it usually comes unexpected.” Her eyes drifted to Brianna, cheeks turning delightfully pink. Brianna smiled back, reaching out to take Freddie’s hands into hers. Their rings knocked together- Freddie found one at the bottom of the sea a few months prior, and she gave it to Brianna. Now, they were properly engaged, so to speak.

‘’That’s right, love can be quite the unexpected experience.” Brianna agreed. Freddie cupped her cheek, running her thumb across her skin tenderly. Brianna turned her face to kiss her palm lightly, nuzzling her hand.

‘’Okay, let’s head back because I can’t watch all this sappiness,” Kareem pretended to be disgusted, but Freddie could see the genuine smile on his face, as well as on her friends’. They were all absolutely thrilled about them finally being together- they all saw their struggles, and they knew their happy ending was well-deserved. 

Delilah and Goliath rushed past them, chasing each other. Had Brianna seen this scene before- a shark chasing a dolphin- she would have been certain it would end in tragedy, but now she just smiled, because this was just another shenanigan of their beloved pets, Delilah- who, in Brianna’s opinion was a sea cat-, and Goliath- the sea dog. 

‘’Darlings, careful,” Freddie warned them, when Goliath nearly knocked into a sharp rock, ‘’isn’t it time for you to grow out of this?”

Goliath looked guilty as he rubbed his large head against Freddie’s side, begging for her forgiveness. Delilah seemed absolutely unfazed, swimming by with an elegant twirl.

Brianna watched them with a fond grin, her hand joining Freddie’s as they swam back towards the cave.

\--

As promised, Regina, Joan, Tamara and even Sarah were all there, waiting for them in their diving suits. Brianna gasped when she realized even her parents joined.

‘’Oh my God, hi!” She greeted them with a laugh, hugging each of them. They couldn’t speak underwater, but they all hugged her back affectionately. She could see pride glinting in Ruth and Harold’s eyes behind their goggles.

They spent the day just swimming around, Brianna showing off her new home to her friends. There were always new corners of the sea undiscovered- and the humans’ minds were blown every single time.

They were thriving, as much as Freddie and Brianna were. Joan, Tamara and Regina continued the good work for the Institute, becoming loud and respect-worthy voices of activism. Sarah joined them; she was absolutely thrilled to be finally working for a good cause, instead of serving an evil man. Joan and Regina often took little Roderick to the beach, who was always delighted by the sight of the mermaids, touching their tails with awe on his tiny face. They never drifted apart: they remained a strong unit, even if Brianna didn’t live with them anymore. It has become quite clear by now, that there wasn’t such a huge difference between a mermaid and a human: you could make it work, if you just let go of your past fears, and believed.

Freddie watched Brianna, and her heart filled with warmth. Who would have thought, in the beginning, that one day they would get here? They were worlds apart, but now these worlds have collided. Nothing could ever break them apart, even though so many people have tried. The Sea Goddess tried, and she failed. Sheffield tried, and he failed. Humans and merfolk alike tried, evil ones and good ones as well, all trying to keep them away from each other, but it never worked. They were soulmates, they belonged together, and they proved, time and time again, that their bond was unbreakable; that they were ready to push against all odds to be together. No greedy evil, no apocalypse, no Goddess or even biology could separate these lovers. They refused to part when they both belonged to a different species and to different worlds, so much that Brianna even gave up her old life just for them to be together. It would be a cold day in Hell before anyone could separate the heroines who saved the world and united humans with mythical creatures, whose story would surely be the material behind many legends and fairytales to come- and the best part? It was all real.

‘’What are you thinking about?” Brianna asked softly, rubbing her tail against Freddie’s. Before them, Ruth and Harold showed something to Jer and Bomi on their camera, making them gasp in awe. Etta was swirling around a very confused Tamara, while Petra and Phoebe braided Sarah’s hair. Joan and Regina swam around hand in hand. They watched the peaceful scene with smiles on their faces.

‘’I’m just thinking about how happy I am,” Freddie admitted warmly. ‘’How much we had to suffer… the Sea Goddess admitted to keeping us apart as long as she could, but then fate has led me to you. The same fate that kept calling you to be with me. It’s just incredible, to think about it. That not even the daughter of Mother Nature herself could keep us apart. And how we came from different worlds, how we lived in fear, but it’s over now. What happened to that poor mermaid, back with Perkins… it will never happen again. Because humans and merfolk are a unit now. Look at us. Look at our friends, and families. We all found a common ground. This world is a better place, and we worked so hard to get there.”

‘’And we prevailed.” Brianna added with a smile, kissing Freddie’s cheek. ‘’We defeated Sheffield, and stopped the end of the world. It was all possible, because we love each other. Every single day I feel grateful that my soul ended up tied to yours, and I never regret my decision of coming here. You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Freddie cooed, wrapping her tail around Brianna’s tighter. She laid her head on her shoulder, watching their friends and families swimming and joking around together- a world they created together, with the power of their love and determination. ‘’Likewise,” Freddie said, smile growing wider. ‘’I used to be a lonely little mermaid staring at my statue and dreaming of humans, and now I have you. And we have all this. It’s better than any dream.”

Brianna held her close, rubbing her thumb over Freddie’s shoulder. Suddenly, an idea sprung to mind, and her lips twitched into a grin.

‘’Freddie,” she started, ‘’you have the strongest magic amongst all the merfolk, right?”

‘’I suppose, the Goddess told me that. Why?”

‘’Well, mine is still somewhat weak, but considering all we were capable of together so far- do you think we could create something with our combined magic?”

This was another thing Brianna had to get used to, the magical skills she earned when she transformed. As a scientist, she was a bit sceptic even towards homeopathy- and now, here she was, a magical, mythical creature. Truly anything was possible, she had come to that realization a long time ago.

‘’Create what?” Freddie asked. Brianna kissed the tip of her nose, her smile never faltering.

‘’I see how happy you are whenever Roderick visits us….”

‘’A baby!?” Freddie gasped. She looked around quickly, but no one has heard them. Her eyes were glowing, cheeks flushed pink. She always liked the little ones, but because she was attracted to other females, she knew there was no way she could ever have one on her own. But maybe Brianna had a point- they didn’t believe they could achieve so many things, and yet, here they were.

‘’Do you think we could… create a little one, our little one, out of thin air?” Freddie giggled at the idea, but excitement was bubbling inside her chest. She was the most powerful magical being under the sea, after all- it didn’t hurt to try, did it?

‘’I mean, who knows?” Brianna laughed. ‘’I have long given up thinking logic exist in our world.”

Freddie laughed heartily, her chest tingling with warmth. She hid her face in the crook of Brianna’s neck, nuzzling her warm skin. Who needed logic, biology and science, when they could have love? Sure, those things were important, too- but in the grand scheme of things, it was always love and faith that pushed them forward. And a little bit of magic, too.

As long as they had each other, Freddie had no doubt nothing could ever stop them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think about the ending?

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on tumblr @bambirexwrites (not taking requests currently), come say hi if you'd like! :)


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